Attention (left); Severity, aggression (right)

Guillaume-Benjamin-Amant Duchenne (de Boulogne)

National Gallery of Art

The image depicts a man seated from the waist up in the center of the frame. His left hand is tucked into his partially open shirt. He is facing the camera directly and has a lined forehead and prominent cheekbones, with an intense expression. He has receding hair, showing a fair amount of forehead, with longer hair at the sides. He wears a loose, light-colored shirt with ruffled sleeves and no visible accessories or jewelry. A hand from an unseen person extends from the left side of the image, holding a string or pendulum above the man's head. The background is plain and slightly textured in a sepia tone, without any additional elements.