Portret van een onbekende schilder met baret 1903

H. Berthier created this etching of an unknown painter wearing a beret. This portrait encapsulates the Romantic ideal of the artist, a figure often mythologized as a solitary genius. The man's gaze is directed away, perhaps lost in thought or contemplating the world with the depth expected of a creative soul. In the 19th century, wearing a beret was a way to visually signal one's artistic identity. This work raises questions about the representation of artists and how they were perceived within the broader social and cultural landscape. Note how the image, seemingly torn from a larger piece, reminds us of the fragility and incompleteness inherent in both art and memory. It is a fragment, hinting at larger narratives and inviting us to consider the stories it might tell.