Portret van een man met een snor, een sikje, een jas en een das c. 1880 - 1910

Pieter Wilhelmus Roemer captured this man's likeness in a photograph, a modern icon, where the sitter's moustache and beard command attention. The carefully cultivated facial hair is not merely a personal affectation, but a signifier of status, intellect, and virility in the late 19th century. Consider the beards of ancient philosophers, symbols of wisdom and authority; this man's groomed facial hair echoes those historical figures, yet it also hints at the burgeoning industrial age, where the clean lines of machinery are mirrored in the precise shaping of the hair. Think, too, of how such symbols are charged with unspoken desires and anxieties. The conscious decision to adopt and maintain such a style suggests a desire to project a certain image, to align oneself with a lineage of power and respectability. The photograph then becomes a tableau of aspiration, revealing the complex interplay between personal identity and collective memory. This image is a study in the enduring human need to leave one's mark.