Bildnis eines jungen Mannes mit glattem Haar und Bart 

Matteo Rosselli rendered this portrait of a young man with chalk sometime between 1578 and 1650. Look closely at the composed yet direct gaze and the flowing locks. This style, which can be traced back to antiquity, underwent a Renaissance revival, becoming closely associated with idealized beauty. The way the subject's hair softly frames his face may recall the ancient Greek sculptures of Apollo, the god of light, music, and poetry. In the Renaissance, artists frequently drew inspiration from classical art to convey beauty, harmony, and intellectual refinement. We see it in Botticelli’s figures, or Raphael’s portraits. Yet, while these artists also emulated classical forms, they infused them with Christian or humanist values relevant to their time, reflecting how symbols morph and take on new layers of meaning. The enduring allure of classical symbols reminds us of the potent, almost subconscious ways that visual motifs recur and evolve, binding us to history.