Frederik VI 1789 - 1857

Liepmann Fraenckel painted this miniature portrait of Frederik VI, most likely in Copenhagen. Portraits like these were objects of power. Before photography, painting was how one represented status. Frederik’s military attire is no accident. Here, visual codes represent the power of the Danish monarchy. Now, think about the conditions in which this image was made. Denmark was a monarchy in the 18th and 19th centuries, and this image would have served to reinforce the social hierarchy. Fraenckel, the artist, was Jewish, which would have had implications on his own social standing at the time. Commissioning his work would have been a statement by Frederik VI. To truly understand this work, one might research the history of the Danish monarchy, the history of portraiture, and the history of Jewish people in Denmark. Art is always contingent on social and institutional context.