Portret van man met baard en hoed 1906

This is A. Gilius's small etching "Portret van man met baard en hoed" or "Portrait of a man with beard and hat". Though undated, the etching's attention to physiognomy situates it within a longer art historical tradition. This portrait presents a bearded man wearing a hat, and raises questions about how identity is constructed and perceived. What narratives do we weave around figures who don a hat and beard? Is it wisdom? Seclusion? Is the viewer invited into a story, or are we intentionally held at arm's length? In our contemporary moment, it is worth asking: What stories do we tell about aging men? What are the emotional and social realities of aging, and how do cultural representations either reflect or distort these experiences? This etching invites us to reflect on the stories we project onto others, and to consider the complexities of human experience.