En trompeter til hest 1744

Johanna Fosie created this etching of a trumpeter on horseback sometime in the mid-18th century. What can this image tell us about the social and cultural history of Denmark at that time? The figure’s attire and bearing suggest a military or civic role, a mouthpiece for authority. Trumpeters were crucial for relaying commands and announcements. But consider: who is being represented here, and who gets to represent them? Fosie was a woman artist in a male-dominated field. Studying at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, she would have learned to represent conventional subjects in conventional ways. The image can be placed in the context of the institution. We might ask, was she complicit in upholding the established social order or, perhaps, subverting it through subtle visual cues? Investigating the archives of the Danish Royal Academy, the artist’s other works, and the military history of the period could shed light on the complex social dynamics reflected in this image.