Oudere man met hoed en een stoel over zijn schouder 1865 - 1909

Curator: The stark reality in this graphite drawing hits you, doesn't it? Pierre Jacques Dierckx made it sometime between 1865 and 1909. He called it "Oudere man met hoed en een stoel over zijn schouder"—"Older man with a hat and a chair over his shoulder." Editor: Woof, yeah. First impression: vulnerability. You can see the labor in his posture. I am drawn into how ordinary it is...like seeing one’s own tiredness reflected back. The material starkness mirrors the subject's apparent hardship. Curator: Absolutely, there's a deep empathy at play. Dierckx captures this man's essence, his lived experience. He's got that kind of realism about him; he just gives you these images and you get to swim in it. Editor: And it looks like Dierckx printed it. That multiplication, the possible democratization of such an image… Did he see the chair as another commodity? He's hauling the furniture, presumably working class...there’s some beautiful mirroring between labor and being labored over by the artist. Curator: You've spotted something really interesting! The chair and burden. Perhaps a symbol, about humanizing subjects so frequently glossed over. How did Dierckx meet him? What kind of conversations did they have as the work took shape? Editor: Right! I’m curious about that chair, too. Is it broken? Surplus? Representing something beyond the man himself? We see its fragmented, angular forms and the man who is tasked to haul it, like any other raw material. Curator: It is like he uses light and shadow not for beauty, but for unflinching observation. Each line on that man’s face whispers of hardship, wisdom, time etched upon his soul. What do we truly value and what do we disregard? Editor: That kind of direct representation can make you think critically. Is this piece about poverty or resilience? Probably both! A visual document of labor practices that forces us to confront how we view value, in both objects and human life. Curator: Indeed, a thought-provoking glimpse into history through a very skilled eye. Thank you for this material consideration—a necessary lens to understand it beyond representation! Editor: The image sticks with me, this blend of intimacy and stark exposure is quite striking. I think the image of the sitter will probably stick with me as well.