Portret van een onbekende jongen bij een tafel 1877 - 1897

This is a photograph of an unknown boy by Lodewijk Hendrikus Serré. Notice the boy’s posture, leaning casually on the table. It's a pose we see echoed through the ages, from classical sculptures to modern portraits, each time conveying a sense of ease, yet also asserting a certain status. Consider how this simple gesture has been imbued with layers of meaning over time. But it is the table itself that I find more intriguing: a symbol of domesticity, stability, and perhaps even hidden secrets. In countless paintings across history, tables serve as focal points, laden with symbolic objects. Here, it is bare, suggesting a stark contrast to the boy’s own youth and potential. It speaks to a deeper human desire to create order and meaning in a world that often feels chaotic. It’s a poignant, enduring motif of innocence juxtaposed with the weight of the world.