Markedshandlende 1740 - 1790

Johann Christian Brand created this print of a travelling salesman in eighteenth-century Denmark. The image presents a walking merchant carrying his wares with a building and some trees in the background. At this time, Denmark was undergoing significant economic and social changes. The growth of trade and the rise of a merchant class were reshaping urban and rural life. This print offers a glimpse into that world, portraying the itinerant salesman as a vital link in the distribution of goods. It raises questions about the social hierarchy of the time. Is this figure a self-reliant entrepreneur, or a symbol of a marginalized class? By examining records of trade, social histories, and visual culture, we can begin to unpack the complex meanings embedded in Brand's image and understand its significance as a document of a changing society.