100 Faces of Emotion
These are faces from across the globe and across history that represent the range of human emotions.
This collection of images features a set of 100 faces representing the range of human emotions. The faces include iconic images rather than necessarily depictions of known persons. While there are some intentional cross-overs from the ‘Faces of Humanity’ such as the Mona Lisa, for the most part the list is distinct. The main consideration was choosing a list that gave a relatively comprehensive range of facial emotions.
The criteria for choosing faces of emotion was not as strict as for the ‘Faces of Humanity’, but we did take the following orientations into account:
Summary of Social Criteria for Choosing Faces
- A relative global spatial spread;
- A relative temporal spread across human history;
- A balance of gender;
- A relative balance of age;
- An iconic or identifiable representation of a named person; and
- A range of emotions across the chosen spectrum.
100 Faces of Emotion
(NB. Country refers to modern nation-state equivalence)
Period |
Face |
Dates |
Country |
Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
000s |
1. Traianus Decius |
c.250 |
Italy |
By an unknown artist, this sculpture depicts Caesar Gaius Messius Quintus Traianus Decius Augustus (c.201-51), head of the Roman Empire. It is currently located in the Capitoline Museum in Italy. |
|
2. Dionysus |
c.250-450 |
Egypt |
This textile likely comes from a necropolis in the Upper Egyptian city of Panopolis. It is currently held in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna. |
|
3. Sigiriya Maiden |
c.479-497 |
Sri Lanka |
Fresco rock-image from the ancient city of Sigiriya, the Lion’s Rock. The woman depicted is a member of a group of figures now called the Cloud Maidens. |
|
4. Bodhisattva, Gandhara |
c.5th C |
Pakistan |
Cared in the Grandharan region sometime between the 4th and 6th Centuries. It currently resides in the Art Institute of Chicago. |
|
5. Theodora |
c.547 |
Italy |
This mosaic depicts Theodora, the empress of the Byzantine Empire. The mosaic is preserved in the Basilica of San Vitale. |
1000s |
6. Al Sabah collection |
c.1101 |
Iran |
Unknown artist, possibly of the Safavid dynasty, currently held in the al Sabah Collection in Dar al Athar al Islamiyyah at the Amricani Cultural Centre, Kuwait City |
|
7. Christ Pantocrator |
c.1261 |
Turkey |
A mosaic of Christ composed by an unknown artist on the wall of the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, Turkey. |
|
8. Madonna of Borgo San Lorenzon |
c.1290 |
Italy |
Giotto di Bondone paints Mother Mary in this artwork currently housed in Pieve di San Lorenzo. |
|
9. Blue-hatted Knight |
c.1320-25 |
Italy |
Simone Martini depicts a scene capturing the Miracle of the Resurrected Child on the wall of the Cappella di San Martino, in Assisi. The blue-hatted knight is one of many character looking on the scene with various looks of amazement and disbelief. |
|
10. Madonna’s Annunciation |
c.1333 |
Italy |
Simone Martini and Lippo Memmi created this artwork called The Annunciation with Saint Margaret and Saint Ansanus currently held in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence |
|
11. Giovanni di Nicolao Arnolfini |
1434 |
Netherlands |
Jan van Eyck paints the Arnolfini Portrait, widely considered one of the most complex works in the history of Western art. It is currently in the British Gallery. |
|
12. Madonna del Latte |
c.1485 |
Italy |
Ambrogio da Fossano painted this image now held in the Museo Poldi Pezzoli |
|
13. Mater Dolorosa |
c.1485 |
Italy |
Painted by Baldassare d’Este and currently held in the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya. |
|
14. Venus |
c.1485 |
Italy |
Sandro Botticelli painted the Birth of Venus which is currently on display at the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy. |
1500s |
15. Lisa del Giocondo |
c1504 |
Italy |
Renaissance master Leonardo da Vinci’s most famous painting, the Mona Lisa. |
|
16. Young Venetian Woman |
1505 |
Italy |
Albrecht Dürer painted this image on his second trip to Italy |
|
17. Ridiculer |
c.1510-35 |
Netherlands |
Painted by Hieronymus Bosh and currently housed in the Museum of Fine Arts in Ghent, Belgium. |
|
18. Tax collector |
c.1525-30 |
Netherlands |
Flemish artist Quentin Massey depicts a tax collector in a highly unflattering manner. |
|
19. Jeronimus Sandelin |
c.1530 |
Netherlands |
Jan Gossaert paints Portrait of a Merchant depicting, possibly, Jeronimus Sandeline. It is currently in the National Gallery of Art, Washington DC, USA. |
|
20. Orazio Vecellio |
c.1550-65 |
Italy |
Renaissance master known as Titian paints his adult son’s face as part of an artwork called ‘Allegory of Time’, an image that include his elderly face and that of his youthful nephew. |
|
21. Sofonisba Anguissola |
1556 |
Italy |
Self portrait of Sofonisba Anguissola and currently held in the Lancut Palace, Poland. |
|
22. Judith |
c.1598-9 |
Italy |
Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio paints Judith Beheading Holofernes, a painted currently held in the Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Antica. |
1600s |
23. Penitent Magdalene |
c.1615-16 |
Italy |
Artemisia Gentileschi depicts Mary Magdalene as a strong female character in this painted currently held in the Marc A. Seidner Collection, in Los Angeles. |
|
24. ‘A lady with flower and fly whisk’ |
c.1630 |
India |
Islamic miniature from an unknown artist of Mughal India. Currently held in the David Collection of Copenhagen. |
|
25. Pope Innocent X |
1650 |
Spain |
A painting of Pope Innocent X by the Spanish master Diego Vela?zquez |
1700s |
26. Armenian Girl |
c.1650-1700 |
Iran |
This oil painting is by an unknown artist of an unknown subject. It is currently held in the Museum of Islamic Art in Qatar. |
|
27. Woman dressed as Diana |
1725 |
Spain |
Painted by Pere Crusells, this painting of an unknown model is called Woman with the Attributes of Diana. |
|
28. Louise Elisabeth Vigée Le Brun |
1782 |
France |
This image is a self-portrait painted by Louise Elisabeth Vigée Le Brun, court painter to Marie Antoinette. |
1800s |
29. Old Woman |
1824-5 |
Spain |
Francisco Goya paints this haunting image of an old woman. It currently resides in Princeton University’s Art Museum. |
|
30. Gustave Corbet |
c.1843 |
France |
A dramatic self-portrait by Gustave Corbet aptly referred to by the name The Desperate Man. |
|
31. White Cloud |
1844-5 |
UK |
George Catlin paints a portrait of White Cloud of the Iowas, while the elder was touring Europe with a circus after being evicted from his ancestral homelands in what is now Iowa, USA. |
|
32. Shirai Gonpachi |
1860 |
Japan |
Woodblock master Utagawa kuniyoshi depicts the actor Ichikawa Ichizo as Shirai Gonpachi, from a series called ‘Mirrors for Collage Pictures in Modern Style’. |
|
33. Victorine Meurent |
1863 |
France |
Edouard Manet paints the Victorine Meurent as she models as Olympia, a female nude who returns the male gaze. The painting is currently held in the Musée d'Orsay, Paris. |
|
34. Nanna Krohg |
1880-1 |
Norway |
Nanna Krohg is painted on her deathbed by her brother Christian Krogh. |
|
35. Spanish Blacksmith |
1882 |
Spain |
Ernst Josephson painted three blacksmiths as part of his folk-life series on peasants and workers. This painted is called The Spanish Smiths. |
|
36. Vincent Van Gogh |
1889 |
Netherlands |
This image bears the decidedly practical name ‘A Self-portrait by Vincent Van Gogh with a Bandaged Ear’. |
|
37. Ferdinand Hodler |
1890 |
Switzerland |
The Swiss artist Ferdinand Hodler depicts himself in the grip of a ‘nigh hag’ in an eerie painting called Night, currently housed at the Museum of Fine Art Berne. |
|
38. A Bedouin Man |
c.1890 |
France |
French artist Anna Clémence Berthe Abraham Worms painted an unknown Bedouin man in an image that is now held in the Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo. |
|
39. Yi Chae |
1892 |
South Korea |
An unknown artist depicts the Korean scholar Yi Chae. This artwork is designated a national treasure and is held in the National Museum of Korea. |
|
40. Rosa Luxemburg |
1893 |
Switzerland |
Rosa Luxemburg is captured by an unknown photographer as a 22-year-old student in Switzerland, five year before she moves to Germany and is plunged into revolutionary struggle. |
|
41. A Berber bride |
c.1896 |
Morocco |
Josep Tapiró paints an unknown Berber bride on the eve of her wedding ceremony. The watercolour is currently hsoued in Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya. |
1900s |
42. Emma Goldman |
1901 |
USA |
The rebound anarchist Emma Goldman is photographed by police as a mugshot after she was arrested for allegedly planning to assassinate President McKinley, only to be later released without charge. |
|
43. Zinaida Serebriakov |
1909 |
Ukraine |
This painting is a self-portrait composed by Russian artist Zinaida Serebriakova. Painted when she was twenty-five the artwork is called At the Dressing Table. |
|
44. A dancer |
1911 |
Australia |
Russian born artist George Lambet depicts a woman in his artwork Portrait of a Lady (The Dancer). |
|
45. Stanley Spencer |
1914 |
UK |
A twenty-three-year-old Stanley Spencer paints himself at home in the decaying Georgian house in Cookham he rented as a studio. It is currently in the Tate Gallery, London. |
|
46. Akizuki Miyuki |
1914 |
Japan |
Uemura Shoen paints Akizuki Miyuki, the heroine of the Joruri drama ‘Sho-utsushi Asagao-banashi’. It is currently housed in the Adachi Museum of Art. |
|
47. Mihipeka Wairama |
1915 |
New Zealand |
Charles Frederick Goldie’s paints an elderly Maori woman with traditional tattoos. The painting is called No Koora Te Cigaretti. |
|
48. Nakatani Tsuru |
1920 |
Japan |
Goyo Hashiguchi created this image of his lover Nakatani Tsuru and called it Woman in a Summer Garment. It resides in Toledo Museum of Art. |
|
49. Florence Owens Thompson |
1936 |
USA |
Florence Owens Thompson, a destitute agricultural labourer and mother of seven, is photographed by Dorothea Lange. The iconic image is known as ‘Migrant Mother’. |
|
50. La Malinche |
c.1940 |
Mexico |
This artwork depicts the Nahua woman known as La Malinche who became an interpreter and lover of Hernan Cortes during the conquest of the Aztec Empire. She is depicted here by Mexican artist Ramos Martinez. |
|
51. Celia Johnson, Brief Encounter |
1945 |
UK |
Celia Johnson appears as the character Laura as part of David McLean’s film, Brief Encounter. |
|
52. Albert Einstein |
1951 |
USA |
Arthur Sasse photographs Albert Einstein at the great scientist’s 72nd birthday celebration. |
|
53. Janet Leigh, Psycho |
1960 |
USA |
Actress Janet Leigh plays the character Marion Crane just before she is murdered in Alfred Hitchcock’s film, Psycho. |
|
54. Miles Davis |
1964 |
Denmark |
Miles Davis as photographed by Jan Persson while playing at a concert in Copenhagen |
|
55. Larry Wayne Chaffin |
1965 |
Vietnam |
German photographer Horst Fass captured this famous image of a contradictory invading American participating in the war on Vietnam. The young man was later identified as Larry Wayne Chaffin. |
|
56. Keir Dullea, 2001: A Space Odyssey |
1968 |
USA |
American actor Keir Dullea as astronaut David Bowman in Stanley Kubrick's 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey. |
|
57. Wodaabe Yaake dancer |
1981 |
Niger |
This photo, taken by Carol Beckwith and Angela Fisher, shows the winner of a Wodaabe Yaake courtship dance, a tribal group of cattle-hearders who cross the Sahel. |
|
58. Sharbat Gula |
1984 |
Afghanistan |
Steve McCurry photographing a woman later identified as Sharbat Gula. |
|
59. Lucien Freud |
1985 |
|
An expressionist self-portrait, oil on canvas, by Lucien Freud in private collection |
|
60. R. Lee Ermey, Full Metal Jacket |
1987 |
UK |
R. Lee Ermey plays Gunnery Sergeant Hartman in Stanley Kubrick’s film Full Metal Jacket. |
|
61. Butho performer, Baraka |
1990 |
Japan |
A Japanese Butoh performer in Tokyo is filmed as part of Ron Fricke’s Baraka. |
|
62. Sima |
1990 |
Armenia |
Armineh Johannes took this photograph of a 106-year-old woman during the Nagorno-Karabakh War between Azerbaijan and ethnic Armenians. |
|
63. Mikhail Gorbachev |
1991 |
Russia |
Mikhail Gorbachev gives a televised speech on Christmas Day announcing his retirement from politics, with the Soviet Union being formally dissolved the next day. |
|
64. Arnold Schwarzenegger, Terminator 2 |
1991 |
USA |
Arnold Schwarzenegger plays T800 in James Cameron’s epic sequel, Terminator 2: Judgement Day. |
|
65. Cathy Freeman |
1994 |
Australia |
Bill McAuley photographs the aboriginal Australian athlete Cathy Freeman. |
|
66. Rena Owen, Once Were Warriors |
1994 |
New Zealand |
Maori actor Rena Owen plays the character Beth Heke in Lee Tamahori’s film, Once Were Warriors. |
|
67. Nguyen Nhu Quynh, Cyclo |
1995 |
Vietnam |
Nguyen Nhu Quynh plays a gang boss in Tr?n Anh Hùng film Cyclo. |
|
68. Mitsunori Isaki, Dreams |
1995 |
Japan |
Mitsunori Isaki plays a young Akira Kurosawa in the director’s film Dreams. |
|
69. Jim Carrey, The Truman Show |
1998 |
USA |
Jim Carrey plays Truman Burbank in Peter Weir’s film, The Truman Show. |
|
70. Forest Whitaker, Ghost Dog |
1999 |
USA |
Forest Whitaker plays Ghost Dog in Jim Jarmusch’s film named after its lead character. |
2000s |
71. Patrick Fischler, Mullholland Drive |
2001 |
USA |
The actor Patrick Fischler plays Dan, a character in David Lynch’s film Mullholland Drive. |
|
72. Leandro Firmino, City of God |
2002 |
Brazil |
Leandro Firmino is filmed portraying the brutal gangster character Li'l Zé for Fernando Meirelles and Kátia Lund film City of God (Cidade de Deus). |
|
73. Face of Tomorrow, Sao Paulo |
2004 |
Brazil |
South African photographer Mike Mike composed this photograph from the first 100 women he could get to pose for portraits for him in Sao Paulo and merging them together into an average person. |
|
74. Roberto Benigni |
2005 |
Italy |
The Italian actor and comedian Roberto Benigni is playfully photographed by Henry Leutwyler for the French magazine, Madame Figaro. |
|
75. Jocelyn Wildenstein |
2006 |
USA |
Jocelyn Wildenstein (née Périsset), New City socialite who has had extensive facial surgery |
|
76. Cassandra Malangarri Baker, Ten Canoes |
2006 |
Australia |
Cassandra Malangarri Baker plays Munandjarra, the third wife of the warrior Ridjimiraril, one of the ancient heroes of Ten Canoes, a film by Rolf de Heer set in Arnhem Land, Australia before the white invasion. |
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77. Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight |
2008 |
USA |
Heath Ledger as the Joker Christopher Nolan’s contribute to the Batman franchise, The Dark Knight. |
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78. Kelabit Woman |
2009 |
Malaysia |
A Kelabit woman photographed by Paul James. |
|
79. Diane Sawyer |
2009 |
USA |
Diane Sawyer prepares to speak to camera on her first day as anchor for the American Broadcasting Company’s flagship ABC World News. |
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80. A Russian Honouor Guard |
2009 |
Russia |
A Russian honour guard and member of the 154th Commandant’s Regiment welcomes US Admiral Mike Mullen who attends a wreath-laying ceremony at Moscow’s Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. The photograph was captured by Chad J. McNeeley. |
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81. Isaach de Bankolé, The Limits of Control |
2009 |
Spain |
Ivorian actor Isaach de Bankolé plays the Lone Man in Jim Jarmusch’s film, The Limits of Control. |
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82. Recycling worker |
2010 |
Brazil |
Paul James captures a photograph of a recycling worker as part of the Chocolatão project in Porto Alegre, Brazil. |
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83. Lubna Azabal, Incendies |
2010 |
Lebanon |
Lubna Azabal plays the character Nawal Marwan in Denis Villeneauve’s film Incendies. |
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84. Mark Zuckerberg |
2011 |
USA |
This self-satisfied photo of Mark Zuckerberg was captured by a photographer working for Associated Press. |
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85. A Mursi tribe member, Samsara |
2011 |
Ethiopia |
A member of the Mursi tribe poses for the camera of Ron Fricke’s film, Samsara. |
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86. Child in Mutuwal Settlement |
2011 |
Sri Lanka |
A child in the informal settlement of Mutuwal in the port district of Colombo is photographed by Paul James. |
|
87. Child-soldier, now student |
2011 |
Sri Lanka |
A former child solider turned student is photographed in the yard of Oddusuddan School, near Mullaitivu, Sri Lanka by Paul James. |
|
88. A Brazilian dancer |
2012 |
Brazil |
Paul James photographs a dancer performing at the Rio de Janiero United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development. |
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89. Anwar Congo, The Act of Killing |
2012 |
Indonesia |
War criminal Anwar Congo as filmed in Joshua Oppenheimer’s documentary, The Act of Killing. |
|
90. Alek Wek, Benneton Ad |
2013 |
USA |
Alek Wek poses for photographers to appear as part of fashion corporation Benneton’s advertising campaign about the ‘iconic value of color’. |
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91. Adèle Exarchopoulos, Blue is the Warmest Colour |
2013 |
France |
Adèle Exarchopoulos as the fictional character Adèle as part of Abdellatif Kechiche’s film Blue is the Warmest Colour (La Vie d'Adèle) |
|
92. Song Xuxia |
2013 |
China |
Song Xuxia is photographed by Wang Yixuan after being injured in an earthquake in Gansu province, China. |
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93. Reda Kateb, Far From Men |
2014 |
Morocco |
Reda Kateb plays Mohamed in David Oelhoffen’s film Far from Men (Loin des Hommes). |
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94. Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones |
2014 |
Malta |
Peter Dinklage plays Tyrion Lannister in Game of Thrones, specifically episode 10 of season four directed by Alex Graves. |
|
95. Toni Morrison |
c.2014-15 |
USA |
The great African-American novelist Toni Morrison is photographed by Peter Devlin. |
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96. A Dismaland Stewart |
2015 |
UK |
A steward standing outside Banksy’s Dismaland exhibition near Bistol. |
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97. A Rohingya man |
2015 |
Indonesia |
Romeo Gacad photographs a group of Rohingya men on the back of a truck as they are being transported across Langsa, Ache province of Indonesia. |
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98. Düsseldorf carnival goer |
2015 |
Germany |
A participant in the Düsseldorf carnival as photographed by Federico Gamarini. |
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99. Serena Williams |
2015 |
France |
Photographed by Jason Cairnduff, Serena Williams scores a point against Lucie Safarova during the 2015 French Open. |
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100. Cosplay Model |
2015 |
Japan |
A cosplay model poses for a photograph for eBay retailer Vicent-Boutique. |