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A. J. Defehrt

Drawing: Expressions of Emotion (Wonder, Love, Veneration, Rapture), from Encyclopédie

1762/77
Etching with engraving on cream laid paper
31.5 × 20.6 cm (12.4 × 8.1 in)

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FROM THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO’S CATALOG

The French Academy president Charles Le Brun’s famous lecture on the subject of facial expressions likely took place in two sessions, on April 7 and May 5, 1668. He assimilated many textual sources, including Descartes, but it was the series of drawings he produced to illustrate the different expressions that had the most impact. These images were copied incessantly, but some difficulty remains in identifying them, especially for a modern audience. This sheet from the 1777 Encyclopédie uses Le Brun’s images of the stages of love from astonishment to rapture.

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