Ben og armstudier til portrættet af Frederik den sjette 1781

Jens Juel made this drawing, "Leg and arm studies for the portrait of Frederik VI," likely sometime in the late 18th or early 19th century. It's a humble work, made with graphite on paper. But don't let the everyday materials fool you. The artist uses hatching and cross-hatching techniques to model form, carefully observing and representing the details of anatomy and clothing. The drawing is inherently bound to the history of portraiture, which in this period was a key instrument of power, particularly for the aristocracy. Consider the labor involved, not only in the artist's skilled hand, but in the very act of the King's body being on display. It's all a part of the performance of authority. Even a sketch like this offers a glimpse into the means by which that authority was constructed, stroke by careful stroke. It reminds us that even the most seemingly effortless images are the product of deliberate choices and skilled execution.