Ardent attention

This face was supposed to convey ‘ardent attention’ and was made in 1794 by the Swiss “physiognomist” (someone who tried to judge people’s character from their faces) called Johann C. Lavater.  The term ‘ardent’ implied that the attention was intense, possibly loving or adoring. Modern lists of ‘basic emotions’ tend not to include states such as love, awe, wonder, or attention – even though they were considered among the most important passions by thinkers in earlier centuries.