Portret van een man met een baard c. 1887 - 1894

Jacques Chits captured this image of a bearded man with photography, a relatively new medium at the time. Note how the beard, a symbol of wisdom and virility in many cultures, dominates the composition. The beard, as seen here, is not merely facial hair; it is a statement. Think of the ancient philosophers, their beards signifying profound knowledge. We see echoes of this in religious iconography, where beards denote authority and age, as in depictions of Moses or the patriarchs. Yet, its significance is not static. The beard’s meaning shifts—from a symbol of rebellion to a marker of bourgeois respectability, as seen in portraits of industrialists and intellectuals. Consider the psychological weight of this image. The gaze, direct and unwavering, speaks volumes. The beard frames the face, emphasizing the eyes, windows to the soul. There is a timeless quality to this portrait, a resonance that transcends the individual and taps into our collective memory of archetypal figures. The cyclical nature of symbols is such that even in a modern photograph, we find echoes of the past.