Staande man met schort en lorgnet 1865 - 1936

Nicolaas van der Waay sketched this standing man with an apron and eyeglasses. The man's pose, hands confidently placed on his hips, mirrors the age-old contrapposto—a stance that has traversed millennia, from ancient Greek sculptures to Renaissance masterpieces. It embodies a sense of self-assuredness, a visual cue that artists have long employed to convey authority or poise. Even the simple apron, reminiscent of the protective garb worn by artisans and craftsmen through the ages, speaks volumes. Consider how such symbols evolve: a king’s stance adopted by a common tradesman. The memory of power lingers and shifts, becoming democratized, embodying a quiet pride in labor. It's this non-linear journey of symbols, their reincarnation across epochs, that reveals the potent, cyclical nature of visual culture.