Portrait of the Painter Franz Werner von Tamm 1682 - 1724

Curator: Standing before us is the "Portrait of the Painter Franz Werner von Tamm," attributed to Joannes Kupezky and likely created sometime between 1682 and 1724. It’s currently part of the collection at the SMK, the National Gallery of Denmark. Editor: My first impression is of striking simplicity, almost austerity, despite its baroque context. The restrained palette emphasizes the subject's presence and artistic tools. It projects a feeling of introspection, wouldn’t you say? Curator: I’m more intrigued by what isn’t there. Why black and white? It’s atypical. The question then becomes: was this originally in colour, and, if not, what economic factors played into the final design, if resources for colour pigments simply were not available to him? Was Kupezky working with limited access to quality materials, affecting artistic choices based on economic and material constraints? Editor: Fascinating question! But what about the form itself? The composition—the angle of the canvas, the artist holding his brush—it all guides our eye toward his gaze, toward that expression, that certain thoughtful quality of his eyes as his hand guides the brush, almost seeming suspended. This suspension almost certainly draws our attention. Curator: Perhaps we could look into who controlled access to the canvas in his locale during this period, as that likely controlled his freedom and his movement in terms of creation of his work. Or the trade routes of brushes and oil-paints at the time? Or were apprentices being used as cheap labor and how was Kupezky’s art impacted in the economy of cheap, quickly, turned-out art? Editor: A truly thought-provoking exploration into material conditions and their impacts on artists. Focusing, then, on formal qualities and its relationship to historical context allows me to better explore the painting, which offers compelling access into Tamm’s inner artistic persona through a study of the art, the brushstrokes, and tonal distribution. Curator: Indeed. Considering the circumstances around materials helps reveal new interpretations that allows one to ask several further questions that go beyond the individual artwork and towards its surrounding reality.