Portret van J.B. Aug. Kessler 1890 - 1910

This portrait of J.B. Aug. Kessler was captured by Adolphe Zimmermans. The subject's clothing, particularly his suit and bow tie, speaks to a specific era of bourgeois formality and the rise of industrial capitalism. But look closely at the lower portion of the print. Beneath the portrait, we find a cartouche, a detail that is easy to overlook, but reveals a great deal of meaning. Note the symbols contained within it; the portrait of a man, possibly a Roman emperor, next to the caduceus, then the symbol of The Hague itself, followed by a classical muse, perhaps Thalia, the goddess of comedy. We see a recurring motif in this combination of symbols, a connection to the ancient world as an invocation of cultural memory. These references remind us that even the modern man is perpetually influenced by historical and cultural precedent, consciously or unconsciously, an act of remembrance and continuity. This photograph is not merely a representation of an individual, but a link in the endless chain of cultural transmission.