Oude man met baard 1776 - 1831

Curator: Looking at this rather austere pencil drawing, it appears we have a study of an older man, likely created sometime between 1776 and 1831 by Giuseppe Longhi. Editor: My first impression? The textures. The rough, almost scratchy quality of the beard juxtaposed with the smoother handling of the face itself... you can practically feel the give of the paper. Curator: That's interesting because Longhi was a key figure in the Neoclassical movement in Italy, he was particularly celebrated for his engravings and his role in teaching at the Brera Academy. It points to a larger discussion about education and ideal forms that would be easily reproduced through drawing practices at the time. Editor: Ah, yes! And consider that material reproducibility. The pencil, readily available; the paper, perhaps mass-produced... Drawing moved artwork creation into the common era, shifting it away from oil paint, and therefore democratizing artistic expression at this time in history. Curator: Exactly! Although the "Old man with a beard" isn't a typical historical painting. What's striking is his gaze, tilted upwards, almost seeking divine inspiration. That sort of elevation of humanity was very central to the 18th century artistic expression. Editor: Right, and his robes. They speak to monastic life or religious contemplation, which were likely painted by lower class members of society. A bit about daily toil is revealed by Longhi's commitment to sketching real workers as opposed to allegorical subjects or biblical ones. Curator: You see how those two paths combine, though? The depiction of humble figures in order to create accessible visual content. How do we take historical accounts into common day life and material practices? Longhi manages to capture and pass along both in the study we find today. Editor: Nicely observed. Ultimately, a drawing like this pulls together the intellectual with the concrete; a noble goal with rudimentary instruments in a tangible medium to produce both historical record as well as new possibility.