Mariae himmelfart. Kompositionsskitse 1671 - 1738

Hendrik Krock made this compositional sketch of the Assumption of Mary with pencil on paper sometime in the late 17th or early 18th century. As a history painter working in Denmark, Krock was at the mercy of the royal court's artistic tastes. His work had to conform to the religious and political expectations of the time. Here, Mary ascends to heaven, surrounded by angels, in a scene that’s intended to inspire and uplift. But it also reinforces the authority of the church and the divine right of kings. The sketch gives us a glimpse into Krock’s artistic process. We can see how he's working out the composition, experimenting with different arrangements of figures. By studying Krock's other works and the historical context in which he was working, we can gain a deeper understanding of the social and institutional forces that shaped his art. We can see the politics of imagery in action.