Ærkeenglen Raphael 1756 - 1759

Peder Als, a Danish painter, created this oil on canvas depiction of the Archangel Raphael sometime in the mid-18th century. The image presents a soft, almost feminine Raphael, a common visual trope in the Rococo period. But what does it mean to portray a religious figure with such pronounced elegance? The angel’s gentle gaze and flowing hair contrast sharply with earlier, more austere depictions of religious figures, hinting at the shifting cultural values of the time. Consider the context: Denmark in the 1700s was experiencing a wave of cultural and intellectual exchanges. Als, having trained at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, would have been influenced by international artistic trends. To truly understand this work, one might delve into the archives of the Academy. The meaning of this artwork is not fixed, but constantly shifts depending on its cultural and institutional context.