Portret van een man met snor 1880 - 1930

E. Heury made this portrait of a man with a mustache sometime in the past, in a small format, probably as part of a collection. I imagine the photograph was probably taken in a studio and then cropped and compiled into an album. The artist may have experimented with different exposures, poses, and lighting setups, waiting for the precise moment to push the button. I’m thinking about that mustache and how its perfect symmetry might communicate a desire to be precise and elegant. How many years did it take to cultivate such facial hair? I wonder if E. Heury was thinking about other artists as he made this piece. Maybe he had the ghost of Nadar in mind, or some other portrait photographer. Artists are always in conversation with each other, across time, inspiring one another. What can be said with an image that can’t with words?