Head of a man with protruding chin and snub nose looking upwards in profile to left 1644 - 1652

Curator: Woah, now that’s what I call a profile! A bold, almost aggressive study in contrasts. The delicate hatching really accentuates the, shall we say, *unique* features of this gentleman. It's almost confrontational, but in a charmingly off-kilter way. Editor: Precisely! We're looking at "Head of a man with protruding chin and snub nose looking upwards in profile to left" an etching crafted sometime between 1644 and 1652 by Wenceslaus Hollar. The piece is currently held in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Curator: Hollar really leans into the exaggeration, doesn’t he? Notice the way he renders the textures; the smooth skin stretched taut over the prominent bone structure juxtaposed against the almost scribbled rendering of the hair. Semiotically speaking, it reads as a commentary on class and physiognomy, the supposed relationship between outward appearance and inner character. Editor: Ah, so more than just a simple character study, then? It’s like Hollar's taken Da Vinci's ideas about capturing these so called 'grotesque' heads and injected his own ironic wit into the composition. Curator: Without a doubt! This etching is far more complex than a mere copy. Consider the subject’s upward gaze; is it arrogance, aspiration, or perhaps just myopic observation? Hollar doesn’t offer an easy answer. And it is essential to point out that this work stems from the Baroque era in European art history. Editor: Baroque, indeed! It shares the dramatic intensity and expressive realism found throughout the period, but filtered through a very personal sensibility. You can sense the artist wrestling with how he relates to his subject. You see a real dialogue here. There is respect but also mischief and, yes, even tenderness. Curator: "Tenderness"? Hmm. While I acknowledge the artist’s technical prowess and psychological insight, I still struggle to see "tenderness" amidst such emphatic distortions. For me, Hollar foregrounds form over empathy. It’s through the manipulation of line, light, and shadow that Hollar seeks meaning, not necessarily through a deep connection to the subject's interiority. Editor: Perhaps. Though, I maintain that even in the most exaggerated form, humanity shines through, doesn't it? We bring our interpretations, coloured by our times and beliefs. This beautiful tension between line, character and history is one of the beautiful gifts of art! Curator: I concede that much! Editor: Then we are agreed, thank goodness.