The Nadars, a photographic legend

The Nadars

fr

Aggression

Charles Darwin, 1877

The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals, by Charles Darwin, 2nd French edition pub'd. by C. Reinwald (Paris)
Printed monograph, 404 pages with figures and plates; in-8
BnF, Philosophy, History and Humanities Department, SMITH LESOUEF S-707
© Bibliothèque nationale de France
Darwin, on the other hand, goes beyond movements of the nostrils and eyebrows to emphasize the baring of teeth. “The expression of a half-playful sneer graduates into one of great ferocity when, together with a heavily frowning brow and fierce eye, the canine tooth is exposed. […] The uncovering of the canine tooth is the result of a double movement. The angle or corner of the mouth is drawn a little backwards, and at the same time a muscle which runs parallel to and near the nose draws up the outer part of the upper lip, and exposes the canine on this side of the face. The contraction of this muscle makes a distinct furrow on the cheek, and produces strong wrinkles under the eye, especially at its inner corner. The action is the same as that of a snarling dog; […] I suspect that we see a trace of this same expression in what is called a derisive or sardonic smile.” (p. 271)