Johanne Dorthea Frederikke Andersen, f. Schumacher 1892

Carl Aarsleff sculpted this marble bust of Johanne Dorthea Frederikke Andersen, née Schumacher, sometime in the late 19th or early 20th century. At this time, portrait busts were a common way for the bourgeoisie to assert their status. But what does it mean to be memorialized in stone? Here, we see a woman who appears both composed and somewhat severe. The artist has paid close attention to the details of her dress, from the ruffled collar to the neat row of buttons, underscoring her respectability. Yet, there is also an undeniable sense of the sitter’s humanity in the slight asymmetry of her features. Consider the power dynamics at play: a male artist immortalizing a woman who may have had limited agency in a patriarchal society. The sculpture thus invites us to reflect on the complex interplay between visibility, representation, and the unspoken stories of women in history.