Portret van een onbekende jongen met hoge hoed 1887

This is Piet Verhaert’s etching, “Portrait of an unknown boy with a top hat”. Made in 1887, during a time when Realism was giving way to the Symbolist movement, Verhaert returns us to the Dutch Golden Age. The boy’s identity remains unknown. The high hat and simple garments suggest a common background, yet his gaze is cast confidently to the side. Verhaert, working within the artistic traditions of his time, invites us to contemplate the quiet dignity of ordinary life. Does this portrait transcend the boundaries of class? The lack of explicit markers of wealth complicates a straightforward reading of social hierarchy. It’s as if Verhaert asks us to consider what we project onto this unknown boy. What does his gaze evoke in you? What stories do you imagine for him?