Portret van een grijsaard, en profil 1781 - 1822

Hermanus Fock rendered "Portrait of an Old Man, in Profile" using black chalk, a medium which lends itself to both precision and softness. Fock, working in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, lived during a time when the Enlightenment's emphasis on reason and individualism was giving way to Romanticism's focus on emotion and the self. Here, we have the profile of an elder, his gaze directed downwards. His receding hairline and lined face speak to the passage of time. It invites us to contemplate aging and mortality. The old man's identity remains unknown, yet Fock's work transcends the personal. In Dutch Golden Age painting, portraits of the elderly often served as memento mori, reminding viewers of life's transience. Fock's drawing may be seen in this tradition, encouraging introspection on our own existence. What do we see in this aged face: wisdom, sorrow, or perhaps acceptance? This image remains a poignant reflection on the human condition.