Selvportræt 1831

Editor: This is H.W. Bissen's "Self-Portrait," a marble sculpture from 1831. It strikes me how the rough texture of the marble contrasts with the smooth, idealized facial features. What catches your eye in this work? Curator: Well, let's consider the marble itself. Where was it quarried? Who were the laborers involved in extracting, transporting, and carving this material? The entire *process* speaks to a system of labor and a specific socio-economic context in 19th-century Denmark. The sculpture, presented as a "self-portrait", obfuscates those contributing hands. How might this affect our viewing? Editor: So you're saying the artwork's value is intertwined with its means of production, not just the final aesthetic? Curator: Precisely! This wasn't just Bissen alone, divinely inspired. There were workshops, tools, and potentially exploitative labor practices involved. The ‘artist’ wasn’t this isolated, brilliant figure that neoclassical values put up. We should think about these historical workshops and the labour divisions. The deliberate act of obscuring the reality of labour inherent in its creation, promotes a skewed understanding. What are your thoughts? Editor: That shifts my perspective considerably! I hadn't thought about the unacknowledged labour behind a "self-portrait" so directly. Curator: Consider also the intended market. Who could afford a marble bust like this? The material inherently links it to wealth and power. It reinforces social hierarchies even as it might attempt to present a universal ideal of self. The act of crafting such an object elevates itself to the higher art but rests on more “pedestrian” sources of labour. Editor: So, viewing it through this materialist lens gives us a more grounded understanding of its historical context. It is a product of its time and socio-economic constraints. I'll never look at marble sculpture the same way again!