Medical Analysis of His Face
Jacques-Louis David's facial abnormalities were traditionally reported to be a consequence of a deep facial sword wound after a fencing incident. These left him with a noticeable asymmetry during facial expression and resulted in his difficulty in eating or speaking (he could not pronounce some consonants such as the letter 'r'). A sword scar wound on the left side of his face is present in his self-portrait and sculptures and corresponds to some of the buccal branches of the facial nerve. An injury to this nerve and its branches are likely to have resulted in the difficulties with his left facial movement.
Furthermore, as a result of this injury, he suffered from a growth on his face that biographers and art historians have defined as a "benign tumour" or "exostosis". These however may have been a granuloma, or even a post-traumatic neuroma. As Simon Schama has pointed out, witty banter and public speaking ability were key aspects of the social culture of 18th century France. In light of these cultural keystones, David's tumor would have been a heavy obstacle in his social life. David was sometimes referred to as "David of the Tumor".
Read more about this topic: Jacques-Louis David
Famous quotes containing the words medical, analysis and/or face:
“One fellow I was dating in medical school ... was a veterinarian and he wanted to get married. I said, but you’re going to be moving to Minneapolis, and he said, oh, you can quit and I’ll take care of you. I said, “Go.””
—Sylvia Beckman (b. c. 1931)
“... the big courageous acts of life are those one never hears of and only suspects from having been through like experience. It takes real courage to do battle in the unspectacular task. We always listen for the applause of our co-workers. He is courageous who plods on, unlettered and unknown.... In the last analysis it is this courage, developing between man and his limitations, that brings success.”
—Alice Foote MacDougall (1867–1945)
“My head gripped in bony vise
of knees, the writhing struggle
to wrench free, the blows, the fear
worse than blows that hateful
Words could bring, the face that I
no longer knew or loved. . . .”
—Robert Earl Hayden (1913–1980)