Étonnement avec frayeur, Compassion, Mouvement Violent (from Caractères des passions, gravés sur les desseins de l'illustre Monsieur le Brun)

Art Historical Context

This exquisite etching, titled *Étonnement avec frayeur, Compassion, Mouvement* (Astonishment with Fear, Compassion Violent Movement), comes from the series *Carères des passions*, engraved Sébastien Le Clerc the after designs by the illustrious Charles Le. Created between 1695 and 1720, it captures three intense male heads expressing raw emotions, showcasing Le Brun's mastery of facial expression during France's grand siècle under Louis XIV. Le Brun, a leading figure in French classicism and former director of the Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture, pioneered systematic studies of human passions, drawing from philosophical ideas like those of Descartes. These works, originally lectures at the Academy, influenced generations of artists by codifying how emotions distort features—wide eyes for astonishment laced with fear, softened gazes for compassion, and contorted forms for violent agitation. Le Clerc's precise engravings faithfully reproduced these drawings, making elite academic theory accessible through print. As a compact etching (just under 3 x 6 inches), this piece highlights the medium's power for detailed reproductive prints, bridging painting and dissemination. Housed in The Metropolitan Museum of Art's Drawings and Prints department, it invites visitors to ponder the universal language of emotion in 17th-century art.

About the Artist

Sébastien Le Clerc, le Jeune|Charles Le Brun (French|French) · 1676 |1619 –1763 |1690

French, Paris 1676–1763 Gobelins|French, Paris 1619–1690 Paris