Lavater's physiognomy. This posthumously published study by the Swiss poet Johann Kaspar Lavater (1741-1801) gives 20 labelled features on a woman's face, explained using physiognomy. The labels are given in French at bottom. Physiognomy, the practice of assessing personality traits from the appearance of a person's face, was popularised by Lavater. The study was provided by Lavater's nephew, and this copy is from the German book 'Die Karikatur und Satire in der Medizin' (Caricature and Satire in Medicine, 1921) by the German art historian and physician Eugen Hollander (1867-1932).