Tage Thott 1753

Editor: So here we have "Tage Thott," an engraving made in 1753 by Jonas Haas. There's something almost whimsical about his stance, propped up on those canes against what seems like a deliberately wild backdrop. What do you see in this piece, beyond the surface level portrait? Curator: Whimsical is a great word! It strikes me that this is Baroque portraiture tempered with something new. It’s got that love of detail in the clothing – look at those frills! – and the rather posed air. But there's a push and pull there – a formality undercut by an air of… slight dishevelment, wouldn't you say? His expression feels somewhat… weary. It whispers rather than shouts ‘nobility’. What does that say to you? Editor: I get what you mean! There's this quiet humanity peeking through the aristocratic veneer, I like how you describe that tension. Like, "I'm posing for my portrait, but just came in from a walk". Almost self-aware. Curator: Precisely! And I wonder if that hints at changing times, the beginnings of a shift in how people of status wished to be seen. Less the unapproachable divine right monarch and more a man shaped by his experiences and a landscape both real and metaphoric. It almost reminds one of a theatre stage! Editor: So interesting to consider it as more than *just* a portrait, almost like a commentary about shifting identities in that period. Curator: Exactly! Maybe portraits from this period can hint at the direction society is taking, reflecting its times... Food for thought!