Portrait of an unknown man 1848

Philipp Winterwerb drew this portrait of an unknown man in pencil sometime in the mid-19th century. It’s a striking image because of what it leaves out. There’s no clue as to the man’s profession or standing in society, and yet he’s clearly a man of some means. He wears glasses and his clothing is respectable, if not fashionable. This drawing emerges from a time when the middle classes of Europe were becoming increasingly assertive, demanding a place in the sun. In France, after the revolution of 1848, the bourgeoisie seized control of the institutions of power, remaking them in its own image. Here, the clean lines and plain background may reflect a rejection of the more florid aristocratic styles, and an embrace of middle-class virtues. To understand this drawing better, we might look into the history of clothing, of eyeglasses, or of portraiture itself, all of which can tell us something about the man in the picture, and the society he inhabited.