San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1897-03-10
THE STUDY OF FACES.
Artistic Ideas on Their Power to Attract
or RepeL


Artistic ideas on Their Power to Attract
or RepeL
To obtain an average of opinion a
number of our artists were called upon.
Charles Dana Gibson said:
at feel these things more definitely
than can express in words. 1 am in
fluenced by faces; we all are. Some
faces bold qualities that invite our ac-
quaintance; others hold those we deem
repelent. 7 think this feeling enters
unto the deeper things in life. 1t is
rather difficult to define the most re-
liable features. I think l would say
that the mouth is the most sensitive. IL
indicates each emotion first, and as the
most INDUCED emotions, in a measure,
form the character, it is safe to say that
the shape of the mouth and the lines
about it from the most complete story.
Take as an illustration the mouth OF
young girl; if you did not see the rest
of her face I think you could analyze
her feelings by it; its expression and
tlemblings are the first to tell the story.
''The eyes, too, tell of truth, or the
reverse, of benevolencs, calculation, and
lots of things. Undoubtedly it would
save much of the wear and tear of the
disappointmentsi in life if people learned
this lesson. 1 think most people are
| guided by the face as a whole rather
than by individual features. In this
way we say: That mans face is good,
this mans bad without considering
what gives us the impression. 1 don't
think could tell others how to read!
faces; my feelings guide me, rather
than fixed rules"
living r. Wiles had this to say:
| 81 do not feel that know enough of
the subject to be guided by it. As it
touches my work, of course, 1 am in
terested, but in the choice of friends l
think am only influenced by the feel
ing of being in sympathy with them,
not by weighing their possibilities. If
/ am going to depict Sstrong character,
| of course l should choose model with
heavy chin and prominent features, par
ticularly prominent nose. 1t would
not do to draw a receding chin on an
ideal hero, and yet many determined,
|
would be hard to particularize the most
reliable feature; one counterbalances
the other in most irregular faces
Small, regular features are not the most
interesting, by any means, from a
standpoint of beauty. What artists
most admire is expression No matter
how regular the features are, an eS-
pressionless face is quite useless to
draw from. The face that suggests
beauty rather than asserts it is most
sought after.
81 have often thought that under
stood character, but have been gross
ly deceived. Possibly 1 was influenced
by expression rather than the form OF
the features. That may have had some
thing to do with it. 1 think that the
sweetest, most innocent face ever saw
on a woman formed mask for the cold
est, most worldly wise, plotting nature
it was ever my chance to meet So, you
see, 1 do not feel much self-contidenct
as a character reader"
From the recently published book OF
A. B. Wenzell one would judge that the
man was full of this theory, yet be-
tween the puffs of q cigarette he en-
phatically denied 1t. 81 do not think
that the face can be relied upon as an
Indicator of character. Take the chin
for instance. 1t is generally supposed
that heavy, massive jaw indicates de-
termination, yet have known great
square Jaws, when accompanied by
large, shapely mouths-that is, mouths
without expressive curves to Indicate
the weakest, nsrrpwest character"
| N. Y Herald.