Man met baret met veren schuin op het hoofd 1739 - 1804

This is Johann Andreas Benjamin Nothnagel's etching of a man wearing a beret with feathers, made sometime in the 18th century. During this time, European society was strictly hierarchical. Clothing was one of the most visible markers of social status. Nothnagel's portrait captures a figure adorned in attire that would have been associated with the upper classes; the elaborate hat suggests someone of considerable means. However, there's a tension at play. Nothnagel was part of a generation of artists who began to question and subvert the rigid social norms of their time. The man's gaze, averted and somewhat melancholic, hints at a deeper psychological complexity, a departure from the idealized and often superficial portraits of the era. The work may invite us to consider the weight of social expectations and the internal lives of individuals navigating a world defined by class and status. It reminds us that even in the most outwardly conventional eras, human emotions remain complex and often contradictory.