Portret van Pierre-Alexandre Wilmart 1861

Editor: So, this is Joseph Schubert's "Portrait of Pierre-Alexandre Wilmart" from 1861, currently held at the Rijksmuseum. It’s an engraving, giving it a really formal and almost austere feel. The subject seems very distinguished… I wonder what to make of that intensity. What stands out to you about this portrait? Curator: Well, first off, there's a palpable sense of...gravity, I think? You see it in the meticulous details of the engraving, the way the light catches his academic robe, the tassels… There's a weight to it. But, is it just seriousness, or is there something else there, some flicker of… humanity? Perhaps a hint of weariness? He looks every bit the learned academic – perhaps even a little bit lost in thought, or burdened? Editor: Weariness, that’s interesting. I hadn't considered that, but I think you're right; the more I look, the more I see past the formal presentation. What could that suggest about the man himself, beyond his academic standing? Curator: Perhaps the pressure of upholding tradition, or the endless pursuit of knowledge, or the solitary nature of deep thought. After all, this was a time when the pursuit of knowledge was seen as a calling, a heavy responsibility. How do you feel the artist translates that responsibility, or any possible tensions of being the ‘expert’, into the portrait? Editor: I see it in the deep-set eyes now, almost hidden in shadow, but then balanced by his posture and strong jaw. Perhaps the picture tells about intellectual discipline… I initially only viewed this as a ‘picture of a professor’, but there's so much more at play here. Curator: Precisely. Schubert has managed to capture a particular kind of 19th-century intellectual ideal but also… perhaps some of the cost of living up to it? I see echoes of our current ‘imposter syndrome’ in that moment; this makes us able to think that there may well be other costs to wearing all of those hats. This work invites us to delve beneath the surface, doesn't it? To seek the humanity within the portrait. Editor: It definitely does. Now, looking at it again, I can't unsee the layered stories!