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''Mécanisme de la physionomie humaine. ou, Analyse électro-physiologique de l'expression des passions des arts plastiques.'' is a monograph on the muscles of facial expression, researched and written by Guillaume-Benjamin-Amand Duchenne de Boulogne, (1806–75). It first appeared as an abstract published in ''Archives générales de médecine,''〔Duchenne〕 in 1862 and was then published in three formats: two octavo editions and one quarto edition. The work was an important resource used by Charles Darwin (1809–82) for his own study on physiognomy titled, ''The Expression of Emotions in Man and Animals,''〔Darwin〕 but in recent years it has been reclaimed as an important landmark in the history of the photographic arts. ==Overview== Influenced by the fashionable beliefs of Physiognomy of the 19th century, Duchenne wanted to determine how the muscles in the human face produce facial expressions which he believed to be directly linked to the soul of man. He is known, in particular, for the way he triggered muscular contractions with electrical probes, recording the resulting distorted and often grotesque expressions with the recently invented camera. He published his findings during 1862, together with extraordinary photographs of the induced expressions, in the book ''The Mechanism of Human Physiognomy'' ('' Mecanisme de la physionomie Humaine''). Like physiognomists and phrenologists before him, Duchenne believed that the human face was a map the features of which could be codified into universal taxonomies of inner states; he was convinced that the expressions of the human face were a gateway to the soul of man. Unlike Lavater and other physiognomists of the era, Duchenne was skeptical of the face's ability to express moral character; rather he was convinced that it was through a reading of the expressions alone (known as pathognomy) which could reveal an "accurate rendering of the soul's emotions".〔Duchenne, ''Mecanisme'', part 3, 130-1, trans. Sobieszek.〕 He believed that he could observe and capture an "idealized naturalism" in a similar (and even improved) way to that observed in Greek art. It is these notions that he sought conclusively and scientifically to chart by his experiments and photography and it led to the publishing of (''The Mechanism of Human Physiognomy'' ) during 1862〔Also known as The publication history of Duchenne's Mecanisme is complex and to a degree uncertain. It was published during 1862 and possibly into 1863.〕 (also entitled, ''The Electro-Physiological Analysis of the Expression of the Passions, Applicable to the Practice of the Plastic Arts''. in French: ''Mécanisme de la physionomie humaine, ou Analyse électro-physiologique de l'expression des passions applicable à la pratique des arts plastiques''). The work compromises a volume of text divided into three parts: # General Considerations, # A Scientific Section, and # An Aesthetic Section. These sections were accompanied by an atlas of photographic plates. Believing that he was investigating a God-given language of facial signs, Duchenne writes:
Duchenne defines the fundamental expressive gestures of the human face and associates each with a specific facial muscle or muscle group. He identifies thirteen primary emotions the expression of which is controlled by one or two muscles. He also isolates the precise contractions that result in each expression and separates them into two categories: partial and combined. To stimulate the facial muscles and capture these "idealized" expressions of his patients, Duchenne applied faradic shock through electrified metal probes pressed upon the surface of the various muscles of the face. Duchenne was convinced that the "truth" of his pathognomic experiments could only be effectively rendered by photography, the subject's expressions being too fleeting to be drawn or painted. "Only photography," he writes, "as truthful as a mirror, could attain such desirable perfection."〔Duchenne, ''Mecanisme'', part I, 65; Cuthbertson trans., 36.〕 He worked with a talented, young photographer, Adrian Tournachon, (the brother of Felix Nadar), and also taught himself the art in order to document his experiments.〔Although Tournachon contributed some of the negatives for the scientific section, most of the photographs of this section, and all eleven plates corresponding to the aesthetic section, were done by Duchenne.〕 From an art-historical point of view, the ''Mechanism of Human Physiognomy'' was the first publication on the expression of human emotions to be illustrated with actual photographs. Photography had only been invented recently, and there was a widespread belief that this was a medium that could capture the "truth" of any situation in a way that other mediums were unable to do. Duchenne used six living models in the scientific section, all but one of whom were his patients. His primary model, however, was an "old toothless man, with a thin face, whose features, without being absolutely ugly, approached ordinary triviality."〔Duchenne, ''Mechanism'', part 2, 6; Cuthbertson trans., 42〕 Through his experiments, Duchenne sought to capture the very "conditions that aesthetically constitute beauty."〔Duchenne, ''Mecanisme'', part 2, 8; Cuthbertson trans., 43.〕 He reiterated this in the aesthetic section of the book where he spoke of his desire to portray the "conditions of beauty: beauty of form associated with the exactness of the facial expression, pose and gesture."〔Duchenne, ''Mecanisme'', part 3, 133; Cuthbertson trans., 102〕 Duchenne referred to these facial expressions as the "gymnastics of the soul". He replied to criticisms of his use of the old man by arguing that "every face could become spiritually beautiful through the accurate rendering of his or her emotions",〔 and furthermore said that because the patient was suffering from an anesthetic condition of the face, he could experiment upon the muscles of his face without causing him pain. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Mécanisme de la physionomie humaine」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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