Sognepræst Samuel Friedlich Zimmermann 1767 - 1824

This is a portrait of Sognepræst Samuel Friedlich Zimmermann, made by Andreas Flint, an engraver who was working in Denmark in the late 1700's and early 1800's. Flint was part of a generation of artists who were dedicated to building institutions of art and design in Copenhagen. In 1786, he became a teacher at the Drawing and Craft School of the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts. He also designed banknotes for Denmarks first national bank which tells us about the role of artists in the definition of national identity. Looking at the image, notice the sitter’s stern, forward-looking gaze. This is typical of neoclassical portraiture, and it associates the sitter with enlightenment ideals. It tells us about how the artist, the institution and the sitter himself wanted to be seen. We can better understand such images by considering the social and cultural context, using archives, printed matter, and other historical sources.