Portrætstudie (knæstykke) af en stående mand med højre arm på et bord med hjelm, og i venstre hånd et dokument. Ordensbånd med elefant og en stjerne t.v. for båndet (blå ridder) 1720 - 1751

Peder Als created this portrait study of a standing man using graphite on paper. The medium itself speaks volumes: graphite, a relatively accessible material, allowed for detailed work but also for revisions, suggesting this was preparatory. Look closely at the subject's clothing and adornments: the sash, the star, and the document he holds. These are not just details; they are indicators of status and power. The paper itself, and its markings, would have been produced through a complex system of labor. Consider the social context of 18th-century portraiture. It was a means for the elite to project their image, literally and figuratively. Als, as the artist, was complicit in this, yet the medium of graphite, so humble, hints at the human labor behind the grand facade. It reminds us that even images of power are the product of skilled hands and material realities. By recognizing this, we understand how the artwork challenges traditional distinctions between fine art and craft.