Oprettelse af brandforsikring 1784 - 1787

Editor: So, this is Nicolai Abildgaard’s “Creation of Fire Insurance,” a pen and ink drawing from between 1784 and 1787. It’s located here at the SMK. There's a formality to this sketch, a structured transaction seemingly taking place. What aspects of the process of its making jump out at you? Curator: The medium itself is intriguing. Ink, a relatively accessible material even then, is used to depict a seemingly upper-class transaction. This contrast invites us to consider the social context. How was insurance perceived, and who had access to it? The act of creating insurance—what materials are exchanged? Policies? Currency? These represent power dynamics and class structures becoming more formalized at this time. The deliberate use of line and the limited shading also suggests the constraints of the commission. It's about conveying a message efficiently. Editor: That makes me consider the almost mass-produced nature of insurance itself. It is sold to many, like a product, to increase the safety of society, or certain members of it. The bareness of the lines also feels very...clinical, in a way. Curator: Exactly. And think about the labor involved – from the ink maker, the person creating the paper to Abildgaard himself and the labor this transaction would bring in Danish society at the time. How does this type of narrative painting reinforce or question the evolving socio-economic structure? Is it celebrating the progress of capitalism or simply documenting its emergence? Editor: I hadn't considered the levels of production leading up to the sketch itself. That really shifts my perception of the piece, considering the insurance more as a commercial transaction dependent on the labor of many. Thank you. Curator: My pleasure. Paying attention to the materials brings everything into focus.