Herreportræt. Profil til venstre. Karikatur 1781 - 1791

Marie Jeanne Clemens made this caricature of a man, in pen and ink, sometime in the late 18th century. During the Enlightenment, caricature became a popular means of social commentary. The exaggerated features we see here would have been instantly recognizable as a type. But what type? This is where the social history of art comes in. Visual clues like the powdered wig point to the aristocratic class. But Clemens’ exaggerated style suggests a critique of that class. Was she commenting on their supposed vanity, their decadence, or their detachment from the concerns of ordinary people? To know for sure, we would need to research the social and political context of late 18th-century Denmark. What was the relationship between the monarchy and its people? Were there growing tensions between the classes? By exploring the answers to such questions, we can better understand the social role this small drawing might have played in its time.