Portret van Nicolas Lenglet-Dufresnoy 1755 - 1765

Editor: We're looking at Jacques Nicolas Tardieu's "Portret van Nicolas Lenglet-Dufresnoy," an engraving from around 1755-1765. There's a real seriousness to it, a formality. The aged paper lends a sense of history, doesn't it? What catches your eye about this print? Curator: What grips me is how Tardieu captures, almost traps, Dufresnoy within this very structured oval frame. It feels almost like we are peering into another time through a looking glass darkly, don’t you think? He’s not just a face, he’s an idea, preserved in ink and paper. And that Baroque flair – look at the way the light almost seems to cling to his wig! Tell me, does that light draw your eye anywhere in particular? Editor: I’m drawn to his gaze. It’s very direct, but also…sad? Curator: Perhaps. Or maybe contemplative? Consider Dufresnoy's work, his engagement with history, myth and the occult. It wasn't always accepted. This portrait may carry hints of that struggle, a certain melancholy in the set of his eyes. It’s like Tardieu is suggesting we look beyond the official portrait to the complexities within. But do you think this is how Dufresnoy viewed himself, or is this Tardieu's interpretation? Editor: That's fascinating! I hadn’t considered the potential conflict. It makes me see it as more than just a historical record. Curator: Precisely! It’s a conversation frozen in time. An interplay between artist and subject, era and individual. A potent and poetic whisper from the past. Editor: I love that; a potent and poetic whisper. This piece reveals the person behind the figure, and also the humanity.