Portret van Cornelis Justus van Noorden 1795

This is a 1795 portrait of Cornelis Justus van Noorden by Jeremias Snoek, a preacher in Delft. Note the sitter’s somber attire, dominated by the severe white collar. This symbol of clerical office echoes across centuries. Consider the clean-shaven face and the simple cut of the hair. This Protestant rejection of worldly vanity contrasts sharply with the elaborate clerical vestments of the Catholic Church. Yet, both traditions share a common impulse: to visually distinguish those dedicated to the sacred from the laity. The stark white of the collar against the black recalls the early Christian ascetics, and the monastic orders of the Middle Ages. This tension between renunciation and authority, humility and power, marks the image as a potent symbol of faith's complex relationship with the world. The human need to visualize authority and devotion resurfaces across history, a constant interplay of tradition and innovation.