Man in een blouse met metalen kraag 1822 - 1880

Curator: What strikes me most immediately is the man’s averted gaze, and the suggestion of vulnerability in his posture. Editor: Well, let’s delve into the specifics. This drawing, entitled "Man in een blouse met metalen kraag," or "Man in a blouse with a metal collar" in English, is attributed to Reinier Craeyvanger. It was likely created sometime between 1822 and 1880, and currently resides here at the Rijksmuseum. It's executed in pencil and watercolor. Curator: Interesting choice of materials for what seems like a fairly straightforward portrait. Pencil work allows for such nuance, and I wonder if the watercolor element lends itself to an easy reproducibility for a wide distribution of this man's likeness to other consumers or if it plays into the subject’s sense of personhood. Editor: That’s a shrewd point. Considering the period, and Craeyvanger's body of work as a whole, we need to think about what a portrait like this *meant* in a society that was only beginning to grapple with photography. Pencil drawing and even modest watercolor applications made portraits accessible, and less formal than a fully commissioned painted piece. It reflects a shift in artistic practice toward greater affordability, blurring the line between formal art and domestic craft, if you will. It's almost like a preliminary study, isn’t it? Curator: Exactly! And what about that metal collar? It's a strikingly specific detail. Metal isn’t your typical choice of clothing for portraiture. It suggests protection, perhaps even confinement, so maybe the rigidness represents some kind of authority of social standing this man wants to represent or perhaps some constraint the artist or commissioner wanted to express about this person. It creates tension with the rather soft, yielding quality of the pencil work itself. Editor: Good eye! Think about it, too: The Rijksmuseum holds this drawing now, it’s preserved here in this grand institutional space. We're as much implicated in the presentation of this image and the projection of cultural authority and history as Craeyvanger was at the time it was drawn. Curator: Absolutely. Thinking about its current value really transforms this portrait for me, adding even more depth to that compelling face. Editor: And I’m still mulling over that watercolor...