Johan S. Welhaven 1840

This print of Johan S. Welhaven was made by an anonymous artist, and is now held at the SMK in Denmark. Welhaven, a noted Norwegian author and literary critic, is portrayed with a stern, respectable air. The soft hatching of the printmaking medium lends a somewhat romantic sensibility to the image. Prints like this gained popularity in the 19th century as ways of disseminating images of important figures. This helped to establish visual culture as a mainstream phenomenon. The fact that the artist is unknown points to the way that cultural institutions often prioritized the image of the famous individual over the labor of the person who actually made it. Historians consult a range of sources to understand the social and cultural life of the 19th century, from printed ephemera such as this, to literary sources, and even official government records. Putting these things together helps us to get a clearer picture of the networks of power and influence in which artists and intellectuals were working.