Mandsportræt 1829 - 1899

Editor: So, this is *Mandsportræt*, a portrait from between 1829 and 1899, by H.P. Hansen. It's a drawing, a print – mainly pencil and graphite on paper, it seems. It feels incredibly precise, almost photographic in its detail. What catches your eye when you look at it? Curator: It's the stillness, isn't it? That quietude that pencil can capture like a held breath. I see a man caught in thought, a lifetime etched in the lines around his eyes, but softened – dignified – by the artist’s hand. Notice how the line work gives the portrait not only shape, but depth of feeling. Do you feel you could walk around him? Editor: Yes, you can really make out the textures of the face and even of the man's jacket! So, he wasn’t just going for likeness, but character, too, right? Curator: Precisely! Hansen's technique brings out a sense of his very self – it's more than just realism. In fact, realism often sought to give an account of social conditions, so this character study hints at even grander conditions – history at its most personal! Editor: Fascinating! So it is more than it seems at first. Thanks for pointing that out. Curator: My pleasure. These small, intimate portraits, they whisper secrets if you lean in close enough to listen. It is all so revealing to consider. Editor: Definitely. I will look at portraits with new eyes from now on!