Portret van een onbekende man met sigaar 1909

Curator: Oh, this etching has such a brooding quality. It’s titled "Portret van een onbekende man met sigaar," created in 1909 by Samuel Jessurun de Mesquita. Isn’t he something? A portrait with a cloud of cigar smoke seemingly trapped forever in time. Editor: I agree. I find the mood really striking! It almost feels like peering into a smoky gentlemen’s club of the era. Sort of serious, maybe even conspiratorial? Curator: Absolutely, there’s a stillness to it, despite all that implied smoke! I always find Mesquita's use of line fascinating. In this work the composition uses bold, graphic lines against the delicate hatching of the etching. Editor: What is it about a man with a cigar that creates instant symbolism? Power, status? Is it a comment on the bourgeoisie in a pre-war era? Or more simply, is it a celebration of leisure, class and the privilege of taking time? Curator: It could certainly be interpreted that way. However, I feel there’s a darker edge to it, and the ambiguity might be intentional, because it’s a dance between portraiture and, I’d say, borderline caricature. Editor: Yes! There's a touch of art nouveau flair there in the looping swirls that hint towards a lighthearted mockery of its subject, yet it maintains such composure. Curator: Precisely! It encapsulates that period—a push and pull between tradition and modernity. This piece acts almost like a mirror reflecting the complexities of society at the time. Editor: What's especially captivating is the air of anonymity, of course, given he's an "unknown man." And you are right—the medium brings it something so tangible and raw. The way that Mesquita brings the weight of a historical figure to someone forever unknown—that contrast is incredible! Curator: Exactly. A slice of life preserved forever on paper. Thanks for pointing out that balance that he strikes so beautifully. Editor: And thank you for bringing my attention to Mesquita, an artist who sees that power through anonymity can tell a complete, yet also incomplete story.