Bustes van twee bebaarde filosofen 1636 - 1647

Curator: Here at the Rijksmuseum, we have a pencil drawing by Theodor Matham called "Bustes van twee bebaarde filosofen", made sometime between 1636 and 1647. Editor: Immediately, I'm struck by the almost meditative quality, despite their being stone. The eyes... particularly on the lower bust, they seem incredibly alive. Curator: They are copies of antique sculptures, meant to showcase Matham's skill with rendering three-dimensionality and texture. He manages to capture the coldness of the marble, and yet, as you say, there's something intensely human. Editor: It's the beards, I think. All that painstaking detail—each strand a thought, a tiny decision fossilized in stone. And the laurel wreaths! Symbols of victory, wisdom… heavy stuff, literally and figuratively. Is it my imagination, or is one slightly… crankier than the other? Curator: That's perception. It's likely because the mouth and eyes of the top one are straighter while the other are set more diagonally, contributing to an impression of pensiveness or contemplation. Their differences highlight the individuality of their classical archetypes. Editor: Individuality within a form… Interesting. Like the difference between Socrates and Plato—two takes on wisdom. I also noticed some light numbers by the drawings themselves – are they part of an exercise book? Curator: Most probably. It provides another kind of symbolic depth to this page as a place where we preserve not only forms of wisdom, but forms of study and knowledge as well. It adds to their profound nature as ancient thinkers but also acknowledges the artist’s own self-education. Editor: It almost creates a sense of time folding in on itself: ancient wisdom filtered through the lens of a 17th-century artist. Curator: Yes, indeed! A very fruitful folding of minds. Editor: The exercise truly reveals the symbolic role art plays. Thanks for the little brain tickle. Curator: The pleasure was all mine.