Profielportret van Jan Hendrik van Kinsbergen 1858 - 1862

This is Frederik Hendrik Weissenbruch's profile portrait of Jan Hendrik van Kinsbergen. The portrait’s delicate shades of grey are achieved through lithography, a printmaking technique exploiting the textural contrast between the stone’s smooth surface and the greasy ink. The use of a circular frame around Kinsbergen’s profile creates a sense of detachment, almost as if we are viewing a coin or a cameo. This compositional choice invites us to consider the semiotics of portraiture itself, questioning how images function as signs of identity and status. Observe how the artist uses line and shadow to define the contours of Kinsbergen’s face. The contrast between light and dark creates depth, emphasizing the sitter’s features. Weissenbruch’s technique plays with positive and negative space, engaging with a visual dialogue that invites us to interpret the sitter’s persona through careful observation of formal elements.