Zittende man en een vrouw met een zonnehoed c. 1930 - 1940

This evocative sketch by Otto Verhagen presents two figures, a seated man and a woman in a sun hat, rendered with delicate strokes. The woman's hat serves as a radiant halo, a secular echo of divine light, reminiscent of the halos in Renaissance paintings. Consider how these circular forms, whether a simple sun hat or a gilded halo, frame the face, drawing attention to the eyes, the windows to the soul. This harks back to ancient sun worship, where the sun was revered as a life-giving force. Across cultures and eras, we find this motif of the radiant head: the Buddha's ushnisha, the Egyptian sun disk, all symbols of enlightenment and elevated status. The emotional resonance of light and shadow taps into our collective unconscious, evoking feelings of hope, clarity, and transcendence. Such symbols are not fixed; they evolve, resurface, and transform, weaving a complex tapestry of human expression across time.