Det danske våben med vildmændene som skjoldholdere 1771 - 1772

Curator: Looking at J.F. Clemens' engraving from 1771-72, “Det danske våben med vildmændene som skjoldholdere” or, “The Danish coat of arms with wild men as shield bearers,” it feels a bit like stumbling into a very peculiar history book. Editor: My first impression? A baroque fever dream meets ancient heraldry. I am completely drawn to the intense craftsmanship, those almost excessively detailed wild men guarding that elaborately busy shield. It's almost… humorous. Curator: There's certainly a deliberate grandiosity to the piece, right? All those painstakingly rendered lions and crowns… it’s a testament to the engraver's skill, particularly with printmaking at that time. It seems so obsessed with lineage, doesn't it? I imagine some powdered-wigged nobleman practically drooling over it. Editor: Oh, definitely. And it’s the kind of work where you have to admire the sheer labor involved. The meticulous details of the engraving itself, the social commentary it offers on power and prestige… Were these prints destined to be hung in grand halls, signaling wealth? It forces me to consider the materials, tools, and the skilled hands involved. Curator: Perhaps… It feels more… theatrical to me. As though it’s crafting a story, perhaps even mythologizing Denmark itself. Those wild men seem pulled straight from folklore or even dreams, earthy, almost primal figures juxtaposed with the pomp of the coat of arms. Does that speak to some essential Danish identity in your eyes? Editor: Maybe in how it reflects a culture grappling with its identity through craft and display. These "wild men," their depictions, what kind of physical labor did it represent in contrast to the heraldic symbols and what kind of labor was involved in their making, how was the creation and consumption of artwork reflecting economic hierarchies. I get caught in wondering about those labor conditions and whether this form of representation challenged those boundaries. Curator: Right. Maybe there’s a darker magic, a wilder heart beating beneath the royal veneer that it attempts to showcase in its display of power and importance. That certainly feels a lot closer to the Denmark I have in my mind's eye, with the strange, haunting undertones you describe... Editor: Perhaps. To see power and mythology entwined with a clear acknowledgement to the system and production is the real trick behind this piece.