Figuurstudies, onder andere een man met een bolhoed en stok c. 1922 - 1925

Otto Verhagen created this page of figure studies with ink on paper. The work is composed of informal sketches, perhaps jotted down in the moment while people-watching. The most striking of the figures is a man in a bowler hat, seated and leaning on a walking stick. The bowler hat was a popular fashion item in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, especially among the middle and upper classes in Britain and the Western world. In that time, fashion functioned as a powerful visual marker of class and status. Likewise, his cane signals not only a certain social standing but perhaps also the sitter's physical frailty. These sketches invite us to consider how art reflects and participates in the construction of social identities. Investigating sources like fashion magazines, social commentary, and literature from the time might reveal the cultural meanings attached to these figures. It's in these kinds of cultural contexts that art finds its deepest meaning.