The Language of the Human Face

The science called physiognomy has existed for many thousands of years. The first physiognomists were savages who painted their faces to scare their enemies. The Egyptians tried to achieve a physiognomic effect by altering the shape of the skull. A characteristic example is the artificially elongated skulls of the daughters of Amenhotep, stored in the Berlin museum, dated to 1350 BC. The first written evidence of physiognomic research is attributed to Aristotle. From the physiognomy attributed to him, we learn that even before him, physiognomists studied the expressions of the 'faces' of animals to uncover the mystery of the human face. With the decline of ancient cultures, interest in physiognomy waned. Only with Leonardo da Vinci do we find an increasing number of reports about his physiognomic observations. Michelangelo conducted very detailed physiognomic studies - as undoubtedly evidenced by his paintings, which truthfully and even naturalistically convey human passions and sufferings - but unfortunately, he left no written evidence of his physiognomic research. The book of a famous German scholar will be useful for practical psychologists, artists, law enforcement officers, and all those interested in psychology.