Portret van Nicolaus Sörgel 1803

Here is the audio guide script for "Portret van Nicolaus Sörgel": This is Christoph-Wilhelm Bock's "Portret van Nicolaus Sörgel," created in 1803 using etching, and now held at the Rijksmuseum. The portrait presents a profile of Nicolaus Sörgel encased within an oval frame, a stark contrast against the rectangular paper. Notice how the meticulous use of lines creates delicate shading and texture, defining Sörgel’s features and clothing with precision. The composition directs our gaze toward the profile, emphasizing a formal and perhaps idealized representation of the sitter. Bock’s etching here functions almost as a semiotic encoding of social status and identity. The lines forming the portrait do more than depict; they communicate a certain cultural understanding of the sitter, his era, and the artistic conventions of portraiture. This detailed etching thus exists as a site where aesthetics and cultural narratives meet.