Fotoreproductie van een portret van Giacomo Antonelli c. 1857 - 1862

This is a photographic portrait of Giacomo Antonelli by André-Adolphe-Eugène Disdéri. The cardinal's garments speak of the high office he held in the Vatican. But it is the gesture of his left hand that captures my attention. Since antiquity, the gesture of resting the hand upon the thigh has signified authority and composure. We see it in statues of Roman emperors and Renaissance portraits of monarchs. Consider how this same motif appears in depictions of seated Buddhas, a gesture of meditation and enlightenment. The pose suggests a deliberate control, a containing of power, yet here it seems to hint at a deeper, perhaps subconscious, unease. The weight of history, of tradition, presses upon Antonelli. The hand, meant to project authority, almost betrays a vulnerability. This motif, passed down through centuries, reminds us of how symbols evolve, carrying echoes of the past while adapting to the anxieties of the present. The image invites us to consider the emotional burden of leadership.