Anna Cathrine Hauch, født von der Maase 1761 - 1786

Peder Als painted this portrait of Anna Cathrine Hauch, née von der Maase, using oil on canvas. It is a medium which has, since the Renaissance, been associated with the representation of wealth. Consider the clothing that Anna Cathrine is wearing, with its ruffs of lace and elaborate embroidery. The making of such garments would have involved many hands, each specialized in one aspect of production, whether growing flax for linen, weaving, or embellishment. Indeed, the textile industry was the engine of early capitalism. Materials like lace could cost more than the canvas itself, but this element of display was essential to the genre of portraiture. In paintings like this, we see both the representation of status, and, in a sense, the whole history of making that lay behind it. To truly appreciate this artwork is to expand our field of vision to include all those processes.