Reproductie van een gravure naar Rembrandts portret van Jan Six c. 1860 - 1880

Gustav Schauer made this reproduction of a Rembrandt portrait using engraving techniques. The subject, Jan Six, embodies the ideals of the Dutch Golden Age. Notice Six's gloves, clasped in his hands. Gloves, since antiquity, have carried profound symbolic weight, signifying power, status, and allegiance. In medieval times, the act of offering a glove was a pledge of loyalty, a solemn promise laden with emotional significance. A bishop’s gloves suggested purity and authority. We see it echo through time and in different places; from a knight throwing down his gauntlet as a challenge to a queen offering a glove as a token of favor. Here, the gloves suggest Jan Six's status and refinement. Consider how the simple gesture of holding gloves can serve as a potent link across centuries, and how the subconscious power of symbols can be harnessed by artists to stir deep-seated emotions and associations.