Illustration Credits

Musée de l’homme, Paris

Photo by author

Alexandre Lenoir (1761–1839) opposing the destruction of the royal tombs of the French monarchy in the Church of Saint-Denis, 1793 (pen & ink and wash on paper) (b/w photo) by French School (eighteenth century) © Louvre, Paris, France/Giraudon/The Bridgeman Art Library Nationality/copyright status: French

Portrait of René Descartes (1596–1650) by Frans Hals (c. 1582/83–1666)/SMK Foto/Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen.

Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts, Paris.

Portrait of René Descartes (1596–1650) c. 1649 (oil on canvas) by Frans Hals (1582/83–1666) (after) © Louvre, Paris, France/Lauros/Giraudon/The Bridgeman Art Library Nationality/copyright status:Dutch

New York Times

Japanese National Science Museum, Tokyo