Why is the right side "public," the left "private "?
Portrait painters and photographers know only too well that the human face is asymmetrical; wrinkles and eyebrow movements vary, and the smile usually breaks from one side to the other. What is more, each side seems to express a different feeling. This phenomenon can best be shown by first covering one half of the face in a portrait, then the other. In most cases, the right side of the subject's face (on the viewer's left) appears pleasant or blank; the left side looks worried, fearful or even a bit sinister. The...
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