Modern physiognomy
Johann Kaspar Lavater
The principal promoter of physiognomy in modern times was the
Swiss pastor Johann Kaspar Lavater (1741–1801) who was
briefly a friend of Goethe. Lavater's essays on physiognomy were
first published in German in 1772 and gained great popularity.
These influential essays were translated into French and English.
The two principal sources from which Lavater found
'confirmation' of his ideas were the writings of the Italian
Giambattista della Porta (1535–1615) and the English physicianphilosopher
Sir Thomas Browne (1605–1682), whose Religio
Medici discusses the possibility of the discernment of inner
qualities from the outer appearance of the face