Portret van een oudere man met een baret op zijn hoofd c. 1633

Curator: Oh, he looks like he's seen a thing or two, hasn't he? All etched into his face... reminds me a little of my grandpa. Editor: Indeed. We are looking at "Portret van een oudere man met een baret op zijn hoofd"—"Portrait of an old man with a beret on his head." This engraving by Salomon Savery dates to around 1633 and it resides here, in the Rijksmuseum collection. Note the realism. Curator: It’s incredibly detailed, isn’t it? You can practically count the lines in his brow! The artist has certainly given this fella some character. Do you think it’s a kind depiction? He looks quite severe to me. Editor: The severity, I'd argue, stems directly from the Baroque’s interest in drama and realism. Look at how the lines emphasize the weight of his skin, the fall of the fabric. Observe the contrasting tones achieved by Savery; he builds form using only a symphony of marks. The man's gaze directs and implicates the viewer. Curator: Mmm, there’s something haunting in his gaze, isn’t there? He almost looks weary… but knowing. I wonder what he was thinking about when Savery engraved him. Did he have any idea that we'd all be staring at his face, hundreds of years later? It's peculiar how a simple engraving manages to invite all these little fantasies about someone's life, his state of mind. Editor: And those fantasies are built from tangible elements. Consider the composition: the hat shadows his forehead, directing attention to his piercing eyes and determined jawline, all central to understanding this as both a figuration and psychological profile. I think we agree it succeeds magnificently as both. Curator: I do! What I initially perceived as severity, you rightly framed as a sophisticated realism in style. His humanity is actually rather touching to look at. Editor: And so, this quiet portrait—ostensibly “just” an engraving—provokes a quiet dialogue across time.