Print : Franz Joseph Gall (1758-1828) by F Lenthe after J Grassi, [c.1810]. Mezzotint; trimmed to platemark, 44x29cm. Portrait, nearly TQL to R, arms folded, in contemplation looking towards and beside table with phrenological objects [bird? skulls, outline drawing of skull] and bust of Haydn [head and neck]

Franz Joseph Gall (1758-1828), a German physician, was one of the founders of phrenology. Phrenologists believed that the shape and size of various areas of the brain and therefore the overlying skull determined personality. There were a number of different systems of phrenology as disagreements arose over what part of the brain determined which characteristic. The print is taken from a painting by Józef Grassi (1757-1838), an Austrian artist.