Portret van de schilder Jozef Van Lerius 1865

This is a portrait of the painter Jozef Van Lerius, captured in a photograph by Auguste Blanche. Note the walking stick, an ancient symbol of authority, seen in the hands of rulers and religious figures for millennia. Consider Moses, whose staff parted the Red Sea, and the scepter of kings, symbols of power and guidance. Van Lerius uses his walking stick in a similar way, to project himself as an educated, distinguished, and respected member of society. The top hat, now a sign of bourgeois society, evolved from the medieval pileus, a brimless cap worn by freed slaves in ancient Rome. This reference to freedom and status transformed over centuries into an emblem of urban respectability. Such cultural artifacts remind us that even the most seemingly modern symbols are rooted in a long history of human expression and adaptation. Their cyclical reappearance, evolution, and subtle shifts in meaning underscore the enduring power of the past in shaping our present.