Hoofden van drie oudere mannen met baarden 1610 - 1641

Anthony van Dyck made this drawing of three bearded old men with pen and brown ink in the 17th-century Netherlands. The artwork is a study of aging male faces, capturing different expressions and features of the elderly. The period in which van Dyck was working saw the rise of the artist as a social figure with the institutionalization of academies of art in Europe. Artists looked increasingly to the classical past for inspiration, often celebrating male figures. It reflects a culture in which social status and power were often associated with age and wisdom. It also tells us much about the institution of art at that time when the old masters were looked up to as role models. Through close study, and by situating the artist in the social and institutional context of his time, we can arrive at a deeper understanding of the visual culture of the 17th Century.