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In 1939, Johan Albarda (1877-1957), the leader of the SDAP (Social-Democratic Labour Party), was installed as one of the first socialist ministers. Between 1917 and 1923, he was alderman of education in The Hague. Four years after the death of the convinced socialist Albarda, his monument was completed. It is striking that his well-known bow tie is only shown in a few lines. The same applies to his glasses: two almost invisible notches on either side of his head.

Why did sculptor Titus Leeser choose these two tiny grooves to make Albarda's bronze portrait head? Casting glasses in bronze is no problem, technically speaking. Perhaps there were artistic reasons for this. But we can only guess. One thing is clear. Because of the brief depiction, an essential part of Albarda's personality seems to be missing. Because it characterised him, his glasses.

Nevertheless, since 1961 there has been a good-looking portrait of Albarda in the park on the Alberdingk Thijmplein. Leeser did not polish the surface of the bronze head, but left the rough, sculpted outline intact. This approach makes the head expressive and striking. Albarda's laugh lines around the eyes are also striking.

In the commissions for portrait heads and busts, Leeser showed himself to be a naturalist, skilfully and faithfully reproducing what he observed. A born figurative', he once said of himself. And indeed, nowhere in his oeuvre does purely abstract sculpture appear. Nevertheless, Leeser was not stranger to searching for his own vision of reality. In his free work and within the 'free' commissions, he tends towards a certain form of abstraction. Perhaps inspired by the famous Swiss sculptor and contemporary Alberto Giacometti (1901-1966), Leeser's animals and figures often have elongated limbs and small heads.