Bathrobe beardy grampas are fine.
I don't know, it seems like a cry of "Vive la révolution!" against it.
But many players want their own Wizard character to be an other concept.
Great. No issue with that. I can't even recall the last time my PC was a bearded old bathrobed man.
So, don’t assume the old standby has been completely abandoned, after having seen one painting…
Oh, believe me, I'm not! I'm sure there will be an image of the old standby someplace in the book--no doubt about it IMO.
Frankly, the image of the new wizard isn't my cup of tea, to me it just isn't "wizard". There's too much going on that makes me think Sorcerer, for instance.
This recent branch of discussion began with me simply saying such an image as this one does not represent what most people think of when they hear "wizard". Which, at this point,
no one will convince me otherwise. We simply are not to that point yet. This image? Superhero is much more likely than Wizard. Again, not talking fantasy fans, RPG players, etc. just the general public.
My preferred concept for one is the Cleric ;-)
I was thinking Divine Soul Sorcerer, personally. Or even Celestial Warlock.