Portret van Bernard Lens (III) 1762 - 1789

Editor: So, here we have a pencil drawing titled "Portret van Bernard Lens (III)" created sometime between 1762 and 1789. It's by Alexander Bannerman and it's currently at the Rijksmuseum. It feels... delicate. What do you see in this piece, beyond just a portrait? Curator: The enduring appeal of portraiture, even in sketch form, resides in its capacity to capture not only likeness, but a moment frozen in time, steeped in cultural codes. Notice the sitter's gaze, both confident and reserved, framed by the fashionable wig. It speaks of a very particular moment in the eighteenth century, a moment where individuality began to emerge from the strictures of courtly life. Does the slight informality of the sketch – the unfinished quality – strike you as deliberate, or a symptom of its time? Editor: I guess I assumed it was unfinished! So the lack of colour or background…that was maybe a choice? Curator: Possibly a fashionable one! The bareness highlights the figure, placing full emphasis on identity. Lens’ clothing, accessories, and, most of all, facial expression provide everything needed to construct the persona, as Alexander Bannerman clearly presents him. How much does the pencil medium itself, do you think, contribute to its message of elite intellect? Editor: I never thought of the pencil being a status symbol. But I guess back then, just being literate enough to write your own name meant you had a certain status. And art was connected to education. Curator: Precisely! It is a visual representation of Enlightenment ideals. It encourages viewers to read, decode, and reconstruct identity via subtle signifiers that would not be present in all other images of that moment, or other individuals that Bannerman portrayed during his own career. I appreciate the many different symbolic meanings available to many audiences within the image itself, especially today. Editor: So much more than just a face! Thank you! Curator: A pleasure! It reminds us that every image is a tapestry woven from cultural memory.