Portret van Joseph Hartogensis 1863

Here, we have Maurits Leon’s small etching of Joseph Hartogensis, made sometime before the artist’s untimely death in 1865. Leon, like Hartogensis, was part of the Jewish community in the Netherlands, a group that faced both integration and discrimination during the 19th century. What strikes me about this portrait is its intimacy. The loose, almost frenetic lines of the etching give it a sense of immediacy, as if Leon captured Hartogensis in a fleeting moment. It's a personal portrayal, one that transcends the formal conventions of portraiture, inviting us into their world. This was a period of cultural and social change, and this portrait feels like a quiet assertion of identity. While class status often dictated who had their portrait made, here we see an image marked by respect and dignity. Leon seems to be asking us to consider the individual humanity of his sitter. It’s a reminder that representation matters, that who gets seen and how they are seen is always a question of power and perspective.