Buste van een bebaarde man, naar rechts 1646 - 1670

This is Hubert Quellinus's etched "Buste van een bebaarde man, naar rechts," held at the Rijksmuseum. The bust presents a dignified, bearded man, likely meant to evoke a philosopher or statesman from antiquity. The beard itself is a potent symbol. In ancient Greece, a full beard was a sign of wisdom, maturity, and authority, distinguishing the elder statesmen and thinkers. We see similar beards in Roman portraiture, meant to suggest a link to Greek intellectual tradition, a conscious adoption of Hellenistic ideals. Consider how this motif has evolved. The bearded sage appears throughout history, from religious icons to secular portraits. It speaks to a deep-seated cultural association between facial hair and profound knowledge. In this image, the beard acts as a visual shorthand, tapping into our collective memory and prompting associations with wisdom, experience, and the weight of history. It’s a powerful and recurring image, forever resurfacing in new forms.