Zelfportret als tekenaar 1802

Curator: Standing before us is Joseph Bergler's "Self-Portrait as a Draftsman," an engraving from 1802. What’s your immediate take? Editor: Intimate, almost unnervingly so. There’s something incredibly focused in his gaze, as if we’ve walked in on a very private moment of creation. Curator: That feeling is palpable, isn't it? Bergler offers us not just his likeness, but his very act of art-making. Look at how he uses line; it's meticulous, neoclassical, yet something feels almost dreamlike in its clarity. This recalls the Enlightenment, where the eye and the mind became instruments of observation and authority. Editor: I'm struck by the blankness of the paper he's working on. It feels symbolic—like the artist is about to conjure something from nothing. What is emerging from that circle he’s working on? The unknown? The potential for everything? It is a void of what the future could behold. Curator: An enticing perspective! Perhaps, the circle evokes the Hermetic tradition. In this sense, it might imply the artist’s capacity to manifest worlds, visions, within the artistic ‘vessel’. Editor: The way the light falls also grabs me— it almost suggests an awakening of self-awareness, that he understands his role. Even his coat hints at nobility. Curator: Exactly. In this piece, Bergler presents an idealized vision of himself, a reflection of the Romantic idea of the artist as genius. The tools, the gesture, it’s a very deliberate construction of identity. Editor: The gaze transcends outward; looking at us as though we are equals. This isn't a superior perspective, but one of pure understanding and relatability. Curator: That's the delicate genius of portraiture, really – that moment of connection, across centuries. It makes you think about what drives a creator, and why this drive deserves our reverence. Editor: Definitely leaves me considering the power that lies in a simple act of observation, creation, and self-representation. Makes you wonder, doesn't it? Curator: Indeed! This humble self-portrait is one to come back to again and again.