Portret van Hans Rudolf Schinz 1831 - 1891

Curator: This is a portrait of Hans Rudolf Schinz, a print made sometime between 1831 and 1891, now residing here at the Rijksmuseum. What strikes you first about this work? Editor: A certain austerity, undoubtedly. The tight composition and near monochromatic palette evoke a rather somber mood. Curator: Precisely. Notice the academic approach, quite typical of Neoclassical portraiture. The emphasis is on a kind of idealized realism achieved through careful line work. Observe the controlled gradation of tone which models the figure’s form. Editor: And yet, looking at it from a slightly different angle, the print medium itself speaks volumes about the democratization of portraiture in the 19th century. This wasn’t some wealthy aristocrat commissioning an oil painting. Curator: Indeed. Although, in fairness, Schinz *was* President of the Zurich Physics Society. But I take your point. Printmaking allowed for wider dissemination, creating a public image, almost a brand for those in positions of influence. Editor: Exactly. Consider the setting; not a grand hall, but a simple enclosed space. It lends itself to an interesting dynamic between subject and viewer, presenting a public figure as somewhat intimate. Curator: Agreed. I find the focus on capturing the subject’s physiognomy compelling here, and how it is imbued with scientific observation and, frankly, the emerging power of bourgeois society. Editor: The man *looks* every bit a President, and one involved in the physics society at that. Very different concerns and power dynamics in play here from, say, a royal portrait of centuries before. Curator: I agree. It’s fascinating to observe how such a restrained aesthetic could, in fact, serve powerful socio-political functions. Editor: Indeed, an unassuming medium carrying a heavy load of cultural context. Well, that’s a portrait for the ages.