Portret van H.W. Nooy 1858

Carel Christiaan Antony Last created this portrait of H.W. Nooy using lithography. Consider the recurring motif of the male portrait throughout history. In ancient Roman busts, the stern visage of the emperor conveyed authority. Here, Nooy's composed demeanor, framed by his formal attire, speaks to a different kind of power, one rooted in 19th-century bourgeois respectability. The suit, a symbol of modernity, connects him to a rising class, much like the toga once connected Roman citizens. The portrait's subtle realism also evokes the past. Think of the Renaissance masters who sought to capture the essence of their subjects, or even ancient Egyptian funerary masks meant to preserve the likeness of the deceased. This need to capture and preserve echoes across time. The collective memory is triggered by portraiture; we seem eternally drawn to immortalizing the human form. It is the timeless echo of humanity's desire to be remembered.