Head and shoulder portrait of a bearded man with a feathered hat 1700 - 1766

Curator: Welcome. Here we have a pencil drawing from around 1700-1766 titled "Head and shoulder portrait of a bearded man with a feathered hat" by Thomas Worlidge. It is currently held at the SMK, Statens Museum for Kunst. Editor: It strikes me as wonderfully immediate. There’s a looseness to the rendering that feels quite intimate. The feathered hat, in particular, seems almost sketched in as an afterthought. Curator: Indeed, the light pencil work contributes to that impression. Note the use of toned paper as the ground. Worlidge isn’t just representing the figure; he's also engaging with the materiality of drawing itself. The social context here is interesting; portrait drawings like this one offered a relatively accessible means of image-making. Consider the availability of paper, pencils, and the sitter versus commissioning an oil painting. Editor: I’m drawn to the feathered hat. The feather, historically, has carried multiple meanings – status, intellect, divine connection. Does Worlidge employ it simply for decorative effect, or does it function symbolically here? The hat certainly draws attention to the face and to the implied social role, but is it actually masking other clues about status that would be clear to the viewers? Curator: It’s intriguing to consider the masking. We might interpret it in terms of artistic license too, the freedom to dress the sitter in garb beyond his usual social position. There’s a performative aspect that adds depth. The pencil sketch quality even reflects the fleeting nature of identity itself, constantly under construction. Editor: And the gaze of the sitter! Those gentle eyes, looking slightly upward. To me, this speaks of introspection. Perhaps he represents the archetype of the wise elder or even a sort of noble philosopher, conveyed through this consistent upward gaze. Is this a type more than an individual? Curator: Precisely! It is like an immediate window into 18th-century production processes, a subtle study that seems almost ephemeral, yet hinting at much more. Editor: I see it as an invitation into the symbolic realm of identity, subtly layered and suggestive. Curator: A fine portrait. Editor: A delicate one.