The iconography of melancholy in the 17th century: the relationship between art and science in Charles Le Brun

• Grant number: 17/04930-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: July 01, 2017
• End date: June 30, 2019
• Field of knowledge: Interdisciplinary Subjects
• Principal Investigator: Lilian Al-Chueyr Pereira Martins
• Grantee: Flávia Crivelari Fassis
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Filosofia, Ciências e Letras de Ribeirão Preto (FFCLRP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Ribeirão Preto , SP, Brazil

Abstract

In the Hippocratic Galenic tradition, the health condition is the result of the balance of the humours of the body, that in different combinations results in the constitution of temperaments encompasses man's character, psychological features, physical constitution and affections. Among the four main temperaments (sanguine, choleric, melancholic and phlegmatic), the melancholic is considered the most harmful and it is related to several physical and psychological disturbances. It has being the subject of medical and anatomical work, as well as artistic, literary representations from different historical periods, since the Classical Antiquity. Considering the Arts field, it inspired a particular iconography of emotions, physical constitution and physiognomy, showing a close relationship between body and soul, mainly in the facial expression. Due to this reasons we consider the relevance of studying it through the contributions of a 18th century artist: Charles Le Brun (1619-1690). The subject of this study are the facial expressions present in Le Brun's iconographic collection. This research will privilege not only the formal characteristics of human physiognomy found in Le Brun's works, but also their relations with the Hippocratic Galenic medical conceptions and the anatomic and physiognomic studies of that time. Besides that, his inspiration sources, in terms of both science and arts, will be take into account. (AU)