Brustbild eines Mannes mit Schnurr- und Knebelbart und umgelegtem Kragen nach rechts 

Claude Mellan created this portrait of a man with a mustache, goatee, and upturned collar at an unknown date. Mellan worked during the Baroque era, a time marked by grandiosity but also, here, intimacy. This engraving offers insight into the construction of masculinity and class during the 17th century. The man's neatly trimmed mustache and goatee, along with his fine clothing, signal a certain social status and adherence to contemporary ideals of male appearance and identity. Notice how Mellan’s technique plays with light and shadow to construct the man’s face. Mellan’s choice to depict this man in such detail reflects the Baroque era’s interest in realism and the individual. The gaze seems to capture a moment of introspection or perhaps quiet defiance. Consider how the artwork might challenge or reinforce the period’s ideas about identity, inviting us to reflect on the complexities of human representation.