Portret van een militair c. 1900 - 1920

Curator: Oh, my, he looks like a proper Edwardian… almost twirling his magnificent moustache just for us. A silent film star cast adrift! Editor: Indeed. What we have here is a piece entitled "Portret van een militair" which roughly translates to Portrait of a Military Man. Attributed to Jac. Schotel Szn, it probably dates from somewhere between 1900 and 1920, during an era of great upheaval. You know, empires crumbling and all that. Curator: Ah, yes, the elephant in the drawing room - empires! Still, something in his gaze suggests a man not yet crushed, more like patiently waiting, sipping tea and watching the world fall into glorious disarray. I imagine him as rather mischievous! Editor: I think the 'mischief', if we can call it that, may be partly performative, playing into certain established conventions. His uniform tells a particular story of identity, belonging, and power structures. Note the careful detail of his uniform, the crispness against what seems like aged paper. Curator: That tension between the soft paper and the rigid uniform is interesting, isn't it? It almost feels like two different timelines are layered atop one another – a dreamy recollection against the firm jaw of duty. There’s this curious tension! It feels strangely contemporary despite the era. Editor: Perhaps its commentary speaks to that feeling of endless recurrence within history, and maybe the paper adds a touch of humility to the otherwise formal portrait. Considering Schotel was a prominent artist in his day, such portraits were very much commissions; designed to project and bolster existing hierarchies and status. Curator: Hmmm, maybe, but maybe he just needed the money? Artistic subversion comes in mysterious ways! I like my imagined Edwardian prankster. Editor: As an object designed for self-representation, it seems to now ask a different question: what remains when all that certainty fades? Curator: In that light, he’s kind of sweetly melancholy isn’t he, now… almost longing for some mischief of his own. Thank you. I think I will remember him more fondly.