Portret van J. M'Letchie, predikant van de Old College Church in Glasgow before 1866

This small portrait depicts J. M'Letchie, a minister from Glasgow's Old College Church. His poised hands, gently clasped, are a dominant visual symbol of restraint, a virtue highly esteemed in his time. This gesture of containment resonates across centuries, echoing in ancient sculptures and Renaissance paintings alike, always conveying composure or introspection. Think of the clasped hands in funerary sculptures, or the 'Melancholia' engravings of Dürer. Consider how the meaning has subtly transformed. From symbols of piety, to gestures of thoughtful melancholy, and finally, into mere historical convention, the symbolic weight shifts. Perhaps, on a subconscious level, our collective memory recognizes the archetypal longing for meaning, and in each iteration of the clasped hands we perceive a deep, unspoken narrative. As this motif resurfaces, evolves, and takes on new meanings, it creates a non-linear, cyclical progression of symbols throughout history.