Buste van Niccolò da Uzzano 1884

This is Nicolaas van der Waay's 'Buste van Niccolò da Uzzano', a drawing that captures the likeness of a Renaissance-era Florentine politician. Van der Waay, working in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, was part of a generation grappling with questions of national identity and historical memory. The choice to depict Niccolò da Uzzano is revealing. Uzzano, as a powerful figure in Florence, represents a particular kind of masculine authority. Yet, in rendering him through the soft medium of drawing, Van der Waay invites us to consider the nuances of power. Is it as solid as the marble busts of antiquity, or is it mediated through the artist's own interpretation? Consider how the gaze of Uzzano directs us to questions of class and power, and how even historical depictions are rooted in the present. Van der Waay asks us to look back, but also to reflect on our own time.