Zelfportret met puntmuts 1701 - 1759

Curator: Let's take a look at Cornelis Pronk's self-portrait, created sometime between 1701 and 1759. It's currently held here at the Rijksmuseum. The work employs pencil drawing on paper. Editor: He seems quite confident, doesn’t he? Almost comically so. The swirl of curls and that…chef's hat, maybe? It gives off a jaunty, self-aware vibe. Curator: It's intriguing how Pronk uses the relative simplicity of pencil on paper to convey a strong sense of texture, isn't it? Especially with the hat. And we have to consider how the production of self-images changed over time. Consider the shift towards these accessible, reproducible drawings compared to older painted self-portraits available to only the upper classes. Editor: Absolutely. There’s something wonderfully immediate about it. It’s like catching him in a private moment of self-assessment, minus the oil paint fanfare. More intimate than regal, really. Makes you wonder, though, was he pleased with the day's labour? The brow line suggests so, somehow! Curator: I think we have to remember the role these self-portraits played for artists. They were not always acts of simple ego or vanity. Rather, it served practical needs. Drawing, especially in a portable medium like pencil, offered Pronk a means of studying and refining his skills but also served as models for possible works for himself, teaching materials for students, and patterns for larger productions. These had an important pedagogical element for students, for example, in a studio. Editor: True. And perhaps there's a little bit of self-promotion wrapped up there too. Still, the slight smirk suggests, perhaps, a more ironic stance, too. As in, "yes, it's me". How the choice of such a humble medium creates accessibility is rather playful, and fits well in contrast to the somewhat aristocratic air created with his curls. Curator: The context definitely provides new layers to what on the surface is a very straightforward image. This pencil self-portrait, in its unassuming medium, challenges our perceptions of portraiture. It offers us an interesting moment to understand artist's labor and material. Editor: I think the beauty of it is finding a face both from and ahead of its time. He knows how he wants to be seen. This isn't just any rendering. It's quite a narrative of identity formed in humble strokes!