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Design for a plate to J. C. Lavater’s, ‘Essays on Physiognomy’, translated by Henry Hunter, London 1789–1798, vol.III.ii., pp.424–425. Lavater writes that the female hand is ‘immoderately lengthened’. ‘We are well acquainted with the artist after whom it has been copied, and we know that he takes pleasure in exaggerating his characters, whether of the terrible or graceful kind... Whatever impression this hand may make on minds purely sensual, to me it appears cold’. Lavater goes on to assure us that he would not want to be friends with the owner of this hand, and that such coquetry is to be apprehended. The male hand is after the same artist. Lavater contrasts ‘the delicacy of the female hand with the energy of that of the male’.
Title
Female and Male Hands, Above and Below, Respectively
Date
c.1793
Medium
pencil on paper (?)
Measurements
H 21.1 x W 21.6 cm
Accession number
31422i
Acquisition method
presumed to be part of the collection formed by Henry S. Wellcome
Work type
Drawing
