Family Photo
Artist: Emil Ditlev Bærentzen (Danish, 1799-1868
Date: 1827
Medium: Oil on canvas
Collection: Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen, Denmark
Description
The family was one of the cornerstones of Danish society in the first decades of the 19th century. The Danes made a virtue out of necessity and found quality of life in domestic pursuits in the lap of the family. Family pictures therefore became a very popular genre in the late 1820s. The painter Emilius Bærentzen was apparently the artist who established the motif. He has depicted a family - possibly his parents and sisters - gathered in one of the more peaceful moments of everyday life in the apartment in Copenhagen.
The painter has taken advantage of the open window to give a fine depiction of the light that falls into the living room. This is particularly refined thanks to the semi-transparent red curtain. The picture undoubtedly reflects the gender role pattern of the time. Only the father of the family sits comfortably in a comfortable armchair while reading a newspaper. The women, on the other hand, are all occupied with useful tasks.
