Kunstnerens hustru og deres to børn 1847

This is Christen Købke's pencil sketch of his wife and two children, created sometime in the 1840s. Købke lived during Denmark’s Golden Age, a time of national romanticism. This sketch offers us an intimate glimpse into the artist's domestic life, a scene of bourgeois domesticity. The figures are rendered with soft, tentative lines, which conveys the tenderness of the scene. However, this portrayal also reinforces the conventional roles of women as primarily mothers and homemakers, their identities often defined by their relationships to men and children. While seemingly a personal snapshot, it's also a reflection of the broader societal expectations placed on women during this era. As you consider this artwork, reflect on how images of domesticity both mirror and shape our understanding of gender and family.