Terror mixed with pain, torture

Guillaume-Benjamin-Amant Duchenne (de Boulogne)

National Gallery of Art

Two men apply rod-like devices to a third man, whose chin is pulled back, mouth wide open, and eyebrows angled sharply upward in this vertical black and white photograph. Printed in tones of golden brown and black, the bare chest of the central man and his white shirt stand out against the shadowy background. To our left, one man wears a black vest over a white shirt with the sleeves rolled up to the elbows. He holds rods to either side of the central man’s neck. To our right, another man wears a dark suit, white tie, and spectacles perched at the end of his nose. He holds two rods to the central man’s eyebrows. All three men appear to have pale skin and dark hair with prominent mutton chops.