Head of a muscular old man in profile to left with flowing hair 1644 - 1652

Editor: Here we have "Head of a muscular old man in profile to left with flowing hair," created between 1644 and 1652 by Wenceslaus Hollar. It's an engraving, giving it a very stark, almost clinical feel despite the flowing lines of the hair. It looks quite intense – like a Roman bust but somehow more human, more…tired. What jumps out at you when you see this piece? Curator: Tired is a wonderful word for it! Hollar captures something truly profound here. Look at the cross-hatching, a furious web that somehow softens to describe flesh and bone. He wasn't just copying an older master, he was conversing with one, you know? Reinterpreting da Vinci through his own 17th-century lens – a dialogue across time! And, in doing so, Hollar offers a commentary of the passing of time – Leonardo is gone but also Hollar is seeing aging. I like that tiredness. Editor: So, it’s almost a study in interpretation and how time changes things? Curator: Precisely! And isn't that the heart of art? Every artist builds on what came before, like whispers in a grand gallery. Hollar isn't just replicating, he's wrestling with Leonardo's vision, imbuing it with his own anxieties and perhaps, even his own hopes for posterity. Look at that furrowed brow; you can see all of art history weighing on that man’s mind! Don’t you think? Editor: It’s incredible to see that layered conversation happening through the lines of an engraving. I hadn’t thought of it that way at all. Curator: See? Art history is not just a dry collection of dates and names. These are lively arguments between people we only know through their art and that share humanity and emotion! We just have to listen closely. Editor: This makes me look at portraiture in a completely different light. Thank you.