En gammel mand og en ung kvinde 1857

H. C. Henneberg created this small drawing, "An Old Man and a Young Woman", sometime in the mid-19th century. The image depicts an intergenerational couple walking hand-in-hand through a wooded area. Images of aging men and younger women were common throughout Europe at this time. Often, these images reinforced assumptions about marriage and appropriate gender roles, with the older man positioned as a figure of authority and the young woman as an object of his desire. We can consider this image as a product of the cultural institutions in Henneberg’s Denmark. The image speaks to the social structure of 19th century Europe, where economic and social inequalities were often reflected in intimate relationships. The artist likely drew upon widely circulating visual codes and cultural assumptions in order to give the image meaning. Historical research into the artist’s life, as well as analysis of similar imagery from the period, may further illuminate the social meanings of this drawing.