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The face in all its states

Whether frozen or moving, made up or transformed, open or hidden, the face is the first thing we notice about someone. Whether it reflects a culture, attests to the stages of life or betrays our feelings, it is the sign of our individuality and the focus of an essential preoccupation.

The face is the first vector of communication, emotion and appearance, but nevertheless has been an enigma and a subject of fascination through the ages. The moving, gripping exhibition at Paris Descartes University staged with the L’Oréal Foundation's backing explored the countless facets of the face "in all its states".

Over 7,000 visitors saw the show's 150 original and often unique pieces from 18 October to 9 November. The works hailed from a wide range of backgrounds, from primitive art to Mauro Corda's contemporary monumental sculptures or artist Patrick de Wilde's photos.

Paintings, drawings, sculptures and molds of faces were side-by-side with unexpected beauty objects and ritual or magical masks enhanced by a refined setting in the grandiose Cordeliers refectory.

Three lectures

As a counterpoint to the exhibition, texts from 100,000 Years of Beauty (Gallimard) invited inquisitive visitors to find out more about the objects on display.

A series of lectures by eminent specialists in various fields, from medicine to philosophy, anthropology, history, psychoanalysis and ethics addressed the topic from complementary angles. Jean-Claude Ameisen, Françoise Gaillard, Axel Kahn, Thierry Delcourt, Eric Chazot, David Le Breton and others took part in two round tables: "Sides, Masks and Faces" and "The Face between Visible and Invisible".

This exhibition is part of the effort by Paris Descartes University, which specializes in health and human sciences, initiated by its president, Axel Kahn, to make a connection between art and science. The university has held a series of exhibitions and public lectures on man and his body and the ages of life since 2007. The L’Oréal Foundation, Paris Descartes University's partner, is also focused on the theme of appearance in its projects.

Find out more about the lectures and round table discussions

"Facing Up", a lecture by Professor Bernard Devauchelle
Face transplants have sparked discussions and raised questions on ethics, the importance of appearance, psychology, etc. These issues are still in the news after the successful total face transplant in Spain in 2010, five years after the first transplant.
To see the video

"Sides, Masks and Faces", round table discussion
With David le Breton, sociologist, Eric Chazot, Himalayan mask specialist, Anne de Marnhac, historian, and Elisabeth Azoulay, editor of 100,000 Years of Beauty.

From make-up to unguents, tattoos, scarifications, hairstyles, jewelry, pigmentations and deformations, humans have always focused on their faces, the most sociable part of their anatomy. The face's physiognomy, expressions and ornaments form a tangle of sometimes very subtle and fleeting signs, whose meanings might escape observers who know nothing of the culture, beliefs or personality of the person expressing them.
To see the video

"The Face between Visible and Invisible", a debate with Jean-Claude Ameisen, chairman of the Inserm ethics committee, Françoise Gaillard, philosopher, Axel Kahn, president of Paris Descartes University and Thierry Delcourt, psychoanalyst. Moderated by Elisabeth Azoulay, editor of 100,000 Years of Beauty.

Character, passions, penchants, sentiments, emotions, psychology, seduction, expression… In the relationship to the other, the face bridges the gap between the visible and invisible, the obvious and the latent, the soul and the body, the personality and physical appearance. "The eyes are a window on the soul", "the face is the mirror of the soul" and all kinds of other metaphors express this oh-so-human dialectic.
To see the video