"Kiøbenhavns Skilderie", nr. 5 1785 - 1788

This print, "Kiøbenhavns Skilderie", nr. 5, was made by J.F. Clemens. Note the sharp contrast between the private chamber within the oval and the man taking snuff in the foreground. The oval, a Renaissance motif, frames a scene of men in powdered wigs gathered around a table, possibly gambling. This shape, reminiscent of an eye, is like a lens into a world of aristocratic leisure. The gambling scene reminds me of similar scenes in Dutch Golden Age paintings, where such gatherings often symbolized the fleeting nature of fortune and the perils of excess. The gesture of the man taking snuff is particularly potent. This act, seemingly trivial, speaks volumes about the era's social rituals and the pursuit of sensory pleasures. Snuff-taking, like other refined habits, evolved into a marker of status and sophistication.