Portret van Ary Johannes Lamme c. 1822 - 1950

Curator: I’m struck by the level of detail achieved in this pencil drawing. The work is called “Portret van Ary Johannes Lamme,” dating from circa 1822 to 1950, by an anonymous artist. Editor: There's a quiet intensity to his gaze. The starkness of the medium emphasizes the subject's somewhat melancholic expression. The piece makes me consider the historical moment and class dynamics present when portraiture was a luxury reflecting patriarchal societal norms. Curator: Absolutely. And note the technical skill here—the meticulous cross-hatching to create the plaid texture of the jacket. The artist paid close attention to representing the textile, and undoubtedly the implied wealth it represents, which tells us something about both the sitter and the cultural value placed on craftsmanship at the time. Consider, too, the availability and cost of the graphite pencils themselves in the nineteenth century, which suggests access, privilege. Editor: Precisely! I read the plaid pattern as a marker of social standing but also confinement—the subject literally confined by class expectations of masculine identity that emphasize composure and stoicism. Also, I want to point to the almost forensic, realist, attention to rendering specific facial features and the soft modeling which contrasts sharply with a seemingly hurried sketch-like unfinished depiction of the shoulders and lower neck areas of the coat. Is that evidence of the sitter becoming bored or distracted and not willing to maintain the sitting? How does the labor of this commission intersect with notions of value for all the actors in this historical event? Curator: A great point, and certainly one to be aware of: it asks us to interrogate traditional value hierarchies associated with 'finished' versus 'unfinished' works of art. We also may consider the social stratification evident in the different treatment of facial and costume surfaces, with the focus and refinement located in the face only. But back to the material – a close study of the paper support reveals what looks like high-quality stock for its time, another factor impacting our appreciation. Editor: Seeing it through a lens of class and identity really opens up the dialogue with the portrait. We can ponder what visual languages it deploys to navigate the relationship between individuality, societal position, and maybe even the inner turmoil of Ary Johannes Lamme himself. Curator: Examining it through both its material construction and social positioning gives such a multilayered reading. Editor: Indeed. It adds compelling new threads of discourse for approaching historical portraits.