Portræt af en af kunstnerens søstre, skulderbillede set skråt bagfra 1810 - 1848

Editor: Here we have Christen Købke’s "Portrait of one of the Artist’s Sisters, shoulder image seen obliquely from the rear,” dating from 1810 to 1848. It’s a pencil drawing, and I’m immediately struck by how modern it feels, almost unfinished. What do you see in this piece? Curator: I see a drawing deeply rooted in the practices of its time. Consider the labor involved – the mining of the graphite, the crafting of the pencil itself, and the artist’s trained hand. Even the paper! The materials tell a story of craft. The social context then dictates the production. Was this drawing commissioned? A gift within the family? How was the sister positioned within their social sphere? Editor: That’s a great point about the material’s origin. I hadn’t considered the process itself. I suppose I was focusing on the image of the sister. Curator: Forget about the image in itself. Think about the act of creating a likeness through such deliberate means! Why choose pencil over, say, charcoal or paint? Pencil allows for corrections, for revisions, implying a degree of study, while reflecting specific decisions on artistic intent and purpose, within particular historical contexts. Do you think the “unfinished” quality actually comments on those boundaries? Editor: I can see how it does. Leaving the sketch visible allows us to see that making, it breaks down that distinction between the artist’s labor and the final “art” object. Curator: Exactly! By foregrounding the labor inherent in its production, it challenges our preconceived notions. I'd go further, consider what pencil as medium may also symbolise or signify during this period, relative to say... drawing on stone! Editor: That’s fascinating. I’m definitely going to be looking at the artist's materials in a new light from now on. Curator: And I now can value even the rough sketches like these in a whole new dimension.