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Teach with Collections: Thomas Rowlandson, Thirteen heads
Rowlandson's wide-ranging depiction of extreme expressions in this radiating cluster of heads speaks to his fascination with translating human emotions into a linear vocabulary decipherable by a viewer. Each of the heads on this sheet evidences the artist's ability to significantly alter the effect of a figure's face through subtle alterations to the pen lines. A key influence on such investigations into different facial arrangements was Charles Le Brun's lecture at the French Académie in 1688‚—later published with illustrations as Conférence sur l'expression générale et particulière‚—which attempted to codify specific facial movements in relation to particular passions.
Conversation prompts: Consider the medium of pen and ink and describe the varying lines used by Rowlandson; with which facial features do you see him experimenting most?
Why might the juxtaposition of heads be important in studying expression? Do these multiple heads relate to one another?
Compare this grouping of heads with those in Duchenne's photograph: how do the media and the organization of heads differ between the two works? What effect does this have on the viewer?
Conversation prompts: Consider the medium of pen and ink and describe the varying lines used by Rowlandson; with which facial features do you see him experimenting most?
Why might the juxtaposition of heads be important in studying expression? Do these multiple heads relate to one another?
Compare this grouping of heads with those in Duchenne's photograph: how do the media and the organization of heads differ between the two works? What effect does this have on the viewer?
