Buste van een jonge man, naar rechts 1646 - 1670

Editor: So here we have Hubert Quellinus' "Bust of a Young Man, Facing Right", done sometime between 1646 and 1670. It's a drawing, or maybe even a print—it's hard to tell!—that seems to capture a classical ideal. But there's something about the direct gaze that feels very present. What stands out to you the most in this piece? Curator: Well, immediately, I’m struck by that tension you noticed, that dance between classical form and baroque directness. It reminds me of stumbling upon an old Roman bust in a sun-drenched Dutch garden – history, light, and someone's daydream all tangled up together. Quellinus is playing with those textures, isn't he? Editor: Absolutely, you can see it in the almost photographic realism but the hard lines feel, sculptural. What exactly does he allude to when referencing back to the classical style? Curator: He's channeling the spirit of antiquity, yes. In the curl of the hair, the set of the jaw. Do you get a sense he's simply copying it? No, no, he infuses it with his own spirit, makes it breath. Like a sculptor who doesn't carve what he *sees*, but what he *knows* and *feels* is there, slumbering beneath the stone. Editor: It makes you think about time, doesn’t it? How artists keep returning to these earlier forms but trying to make them new. What feeling were people trying to convey back in that moment, or is it something that changes as the years progress? Curator: Yes! These works invite that exact question. Thinkers wanted to root themselves in that ideal - back in antiquity - that felt, and offered, that sense of groundedness, while attempting to convey something uniquely about themselves, what a concept! Looking at this piece made me think… are we still as bold, still as brave in attempting such a daring feat? Editor: Hmm, that makes me think about artistic courage in a totally new light. It's like Quellinus is winking across centuries. Thanks!