Frederik d. 5.'s monument i Roskilde 1765 - 1833

Curator: My first impression is…solemn. The print is awash in shadow, giving the monument a sense of somber importance. Editor: That's definitely the mood! What we are looking at is an engraving made by Gerhard Ludvig Lahde between 1765 and 1833 titled "Frederik d. 5.'s monument i Roskilde" It now resides here at the SMK, Statens Museum for Kunst. It looks like the artist wanted to use classicizing symbols for collective memory. Curator: You can definitely see that neoclassical influence, the symmetrical composition and figures hearken back to ancient Greece. Look at those two mournful figures flanking the central monument! I see echoes of the classical caryatid motif of female figures as architectural support. Editor: It’s interesting how he uses these visual tropes. We see this play between idealization and grief expressed on a national scale. What statements about royal power does this imply for public viewers? Curator: It evokes a reverence, bordering on mythologizing. Consider the way the monument's form recalls the mausoleums of antiquity; there's an effort to grant Frederik V lasting, almost divine status through visual association. Editor: And those reliefs! Depicting scenes from his reign, immortalizing not just the man, but the supposed values and events of his time. It’s like a piece of political theater rendered in miniature. But the question is how audiences then and now interpret that message. Does this engraving simply reinforce power, or does it open a space for reflecting on the king and his legacy? Curator: I find myself captivated by those sorrowful figures, the mourning gestures suggesting grief while paradoxically turning the royal personage into an idea: The wise ruler. The father of his country. Editor: Indeed! An intriguing artifact illustrating how power memorializes itself! It offers many possible viewpoints, which is part of the print’s continued fascination and worth.