Face(less) masks
A new exhibit at Chicago’s International Museum of Surgical Science has me thinking about what makes us stand out and fade away.
Leonardo da Vinci was said to have been so captivated by unusual—and particularly grotesque—faces that when, walking in the street, he saw one, he might follow its owner around all day collecting drawing fodder. Capturing a real likeness of a sitter in a portrait is a magical thing, which has eluded many exceptional artists (and quite a few of us who a…