Portret van een onbekende man, aangeduid als Dr. Elmqvist 1878 - 1890

Bernhard Hakelier captured this image of a man thought to be Dr. Elmqvist, in Örebro, in a carte-de-visite. The sitter's beard, neatly trimmed, echoes the fashion of ancient philosophers. The beard, from the Greek 'pogon,' has long been associated with wisdom and virility. Now, consider the Egyptian pharaohs, who wore false beards as symbols of power, or the beards of the Assyrian kings, meticulously styled to denote status. In these civilizations, beards signified authority and maturity. This motif resurfaces, centuries later, in the portraits of European royalty and intellectuals, each reinterpretation carrying the weight of ancestral symbolism. The beard, therefore, becomes a palimpsest of cultural meanings, accumulating layers of significance over time. It speaks to our collective memory, subconsciously triggering associations with leadership, intellect, and perhaps even a touch of the divine.