Portræt af Constantin Hansen 1870s

Here is your audio guide script: This is a portrait of Constantin Hansen, made by an anonymous artist, likely in Denmark. The drawing offers a window into the cultural and artistic circles of its time. Notice Hansen's assured gaze and the stylish hat. These are visual cues suggesting an air of intellectual confidence but this image is based on an earlier painting by Wilhelm Marstrand, so why reproduce another artist's work? The answer lies in the changing role of art institutions. As museums like the Statens Museum for Kunst grew in prominence, so did the demand for accessible images of artworks. This drawing probably served to popularize Marstrand’s painting. Art historians can learn a lot from such images. By researching the networks of artists, institutions, and printmakers, we can better understand the social conditions that shaped artistic production and consumption in 19th-century Denmark.