Portret van Antoine Dubois 1824 - 1910

Editor: Here we have Charles Victor Normand’s "Portret van Antoine Dubois," sometime between 1824 and 1910. It's a drawing, specifically an engraving, so a print. The image itself seems quite small in the frame of the paper. What strikes me is how… serious the subject looks. What do you make of it? Curator: Serious, yes, and certainly of a different era, wouldn’t you agree? Looking at Dubois, I wonder what thoughts occupy his mind, captured with such precision through engraving. Do you notice how the artist utilizes light and shadow? It's quite stark, lending a sense of gravity, wouldn’t you say? Editor: Absolutely. The shadows do add weight. I'm also curious about why Normand chose engraving. It seems like such a meticulous process for a portrait. Was it just the fashion of the time? Curator: Partly that, but it also speaks to the values of that time, where accuracy and permanence were highly prized. Engraving, unlike, say, a quick sketch, offers a sense of lasting record. Each line is carefully considered, each shadow deliberately placed. It's a statement about the importance of the sitter, don't you think? The academic style underlines this impression. Do you agree with my feeling of “grandeur?” Editor: I do now! I hadn't really considered the deliberate choice behind the medium, just its prevalence. Now I see it contributes to this lasting impression. I'll never look at an engraving the same way again! Curator: Wonderful! That’s exactly how I feel, every single time. There’s something about those considered choices that truly gets to me. Art is cool.