Portræt af digteren F.G. Klopstock (1724-1803) 1780

Jens Juel rendered this portrait of the poet F.G. Klopstock in pencil and wash on paper. Note the poet’s gaze, directed towards the right, away from the viewer, a common trope in portraiture, yet one laden with symbolic weight. The averted gaze can be traced back to classical antiquity, often signifying contemplation or a connection to the divine. One finds similar expressions in the visages of philosophers and muses throughout Renaissance painting. The eyes, gateways to the soul, become in this instance, veiled, suggesting a deeper, interior world, much like the symbolic gesture in ancient Roman portraiture known as *adlocutio*, where the figure addresses an unseen audience, a gesture signifying authority and communication beyond the immediate. Consider, then, how Klopstock, a poet, might use this visual cue to signal his own authority—not of earthly power, but of artistic and intellectual vision. It’s a visual echo resonating through centuries, each time colored by the unique historical and personal context of the sitter.