Handkussende man bij een huilende vrouw 1804

Jacob Ernst Marcus created this print, “Handkussende man bij een huilende vrouw”, sometime before 1826, now at the Rijksmuseum. The composition centers on a man kneeling to kiss a woman's hand, surrounded by onlookers, all rendered in delicate lines. The restrained use of hatching and cross-hatching creates a range of tonal values, emphasizing the emotional intensity of the scene. The figures are arranged in a shallow space, almost like a stage, drawing our eye to the interplay of gestures and expressions. This staged effect prompts us to consider the conventions of sentimentality and how they are visually encoded through posture and facial expression. The neoclassical aesthetics are evident in the figures' idealized forms and the architectural backdrop. The artwork raises questions about the representation of emotion, and the semiotic codes embedded in such scenes. Is this genuine sentiment, or a performance of feeling meant to convey certain social values? The print invites us to consider how emotions were structured and communicated in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.