Hoofd van een man in een staat van angst Possibly 1732 - 1738

This engraving, 'Head of a Man in a State of Fear', is by an anonymous artist and resides in the Rijksmuseum. The absence of information about the artist positions this work within a broader, perhaps more unsettling context. The image captures a raw, unfiltered emotion. Fear contorts the man's face, his eyes wide with a primal terror, mouth agape in what might be a scream. What does it mean to depict fear so openly? Is it a reflection of the artist's inner turmoil, or a commentary on the anxieties of their time? The lack of context invites us to consider the universal experience of fear. Perhaps the artist intended to confront the viewer with the uncomfortable reality of human vulnerability. Is the subject running from something or someone? The work invites us to consider the societal structures or personal demons that incite such intense emotion.