Portret van een onbekende man met open mond 1852 - 1890

Curator: So, here we have an intriguing etching titled "Portret van een onbekende man met open mond," or "Portrait of an Unknown Man with Open Mouth," created by Willem Linnig II sometime between 1852 and 1890. It's currently housed here at the Rijksmuseum. What springs to mind for you initially? Editor: Immediately, it feels like raw, almost performative emotion. The way his mouth gapes, the dark lines etching every wrinkle... I wonder what prompted such an exaggerated expression. Exhaustion, perhaps? Or even a forced smile for a portrait he didn't want? Curator: That rawness is characteristic of Linnig's genre scenes and figuration. Look closely at the print itself – the density of lines in the shadows around his eyes and mouth. Linnig likely used multiple bitings in the etching process to achieve such depth, really digging into the copperplate. The texture must've been something to behold on the plate itself. Editor: You know, when I see work like this, I immediately think of the material labor involved, of the working class even, and of those unseen parts. The man in this image, his clothing, his cap. Were these his work clothes perhaps? The act of etching and printing too is a manual skill. What kinds of tools and equipment would have been used and where were these things sourced from at the time? Curator: It makes one consider what labor existed just outside the art world as well as what it takes to make it run. Absolutely! It lends an incredible physicality to what we're seeing, doesn't it? And there's that tension between the intimate—the vulnerable expression—and the almost clinical detail Linnig provides. I get the sense of someone being thoroughly scrutinized. As for whether it’s performance, or exhaustion, maybe it is a mirror! Linnig may be playing around with an image of himself for the practice. Editor: Hmm, there is a feeling of introspection... Now you have me considering that his “open mouth” might have been a yawn that became something between melancholy, self-awareness and some kind of social frustration, especially looking at it from our point of view centuries later. It's strange how the meaning transforms with context, material circumstances and historical shifts! Curator: Exactly! And ultimately, it becomes our story as well. Editor: I can certainly see why this work made such a lasting impression!