Verzamelaar van prenten 1888 - 1945

Charles Bourgeat made this etching, *Verzamelaar van prenten*, and it's all about tone, rendered with the precision of an engraver and the expressivity of a painter. I wonder, was Bourgeat thinking about the contrast between the collector, bent over, his own world enclosed in the act of looking, versus the worlds within the prints that surround him? I imagine him etching the copper plate, the acid biting around the lines, like memory itself, each mark a decision, a breath held. The collector’s face is hidden, but his posture speaks of curiosity, and maybe even a little obsession. In this world of images, what does he seek? A reflection of himself, or an escape from it? I feel like he's searching, just like we all are, for something real in a world of representations. Isn’t that what every artist, collector, or viewer is after? Some kind of truth?