Visual clues to emotional states: Rodin's "Burghers of Calais"

In the well-known, recorded Gsell-Rodin conversations of 1911, Gsell summarized Rodin's theory of the expressiveness of the human image: "Generally the face alone is considered to be the mirror of the soul: the mobility of the features of the face seems to us the unique exteriorization of the spiritual life. In reality, there is not one muscle of the body that does not express variations within. Each speaks of joy or sadness, enthusiasm or despair, calm or rage. Out-stretched arms, an unrestrained torso can smile with as much sweetness as eyes or lips. But in order to be able to interpret all aspects of the flesh, one must be trained patiently in the spelling and reading of the pages of this beautiful book" (Art: Conversations With Paul Gsell. Translated by deCaso J, Sanders PB. Berkeley, CA, University of California Press, 1984, p 10). The question thus arises, how can we as students of the human condition undertake this necessary training? How might we develop the aesthetic senses to appreciate the legibility of the human face and form more fully? For assistance in this undertaking we naturally turn to the artist. For the artist "sees" the world through eyes trained to acutely appreciate color, light and shadow, surface and volume, and inner truth. In particular, the education and training of Rodin, and the development of his artistic technique and insight, offer the health care professional rich intellectual material for this study. A closer look at the conception and evolution of Rodin's masterpiece, "The Burghers of Calais," amply illustrates this vision.