Curatorial Narrative tienne Fessard’s “Junger Mann mit Hut nach rechts” is a masterful exercise in restraint, its Baroque undertones expertly subsumed beneath a monochromatic surface that bespeaks the Classical ideals of proportion and control. The soft brushwork imbues the image with an air of contemplative quietude, as if the subject were lost in thought rather than posed for our attention. This is no accidental effect, but rather a deliberate choice on Fessard’s part to subdue the visual noise of his subject in favor of an atmosphere of stillness and introspection.Enlarged to its published size of 44×52, “Junger Mann mit Hut nach rechts” reveals itself to be a carefully calibrated exercise in spatial rhythm. The monochromatic palette, far from being austere or uninteresting, assumes a richly atmospheric quality that imbues the entire composition with a sense of depth and volume. The subject’s placement at the visual center of the