Dameportræt 1751

Johan Hörner painted this portrait of a woman in oil on canvas sometime in the mid-18th century. The painting is an example of a type of portraiture intended to assert the status of the sitter, whose identity is now lost to us. Her elaborate lace cap and patterned dress speak of wealth. The rosy tint of her cheeks and lips, as well as the smoothness of her skin, were features associated with the aristocracy, as opposed to the sun-weathered faces of those who labored outdoors. As a formal genre, portraiture like this played a key role in shaping social hierarchies, and in reinforcing the authority of the elite. It is likely that this painting was commissioned, as it was rare for artists to work outside the patronage system at this time. Art historians consider the social context of artworks by researching the lives of artists and patrons, as well as the artistic conventions of the period.