Drie silhouetportretten van onbekende mannen 18th century

These three silhouette portraits of unknown men were created anonymously, using an unidentified technique. The starkness of the silhouettes emphasizes the shape of the face, the details of the hairline, and the cut of the clothes. It's hard not to see the figures as part of the emerging bourgeoisie of their era. Consider the gaze that is directed away, to the right, and the quiet dignity of the image, which speaks to a certain level of society, a certain level of power. These are men whose identities were not only shaped by class, but also by gender and race. They conform to a very specific standard of masculinity, of a kind of northern European whiteness. In the absence of specific identities, these silhouettes become stand-ins for an entire class of people. In this way, the artwork invites reflection on the broader social structures that shaped the lives and identities of individuals in that era.