Chr. IV lader bødlen tage ordenskæden og sværdet fra falskneren Christopher Rosenkrantz 1861

Wilhelm Marstrand made this drawing entitled 'Chr. IV lader bødlen tage ordenskæden og sværdet fra falskneren Christopher Rosenkrantz' in Denmark. The image depicts a scene of public humiliation and punishment. King Christian IV sits enthroned, overseeing the removal of honors from the forger Christopher Rosenkrantz. The composition and setting speak to the importance of social hierarchy and the power of the monarchy in 17th-century Denmark. Marstrand made this drawing in the 19th century. The artist and his contemporaries looked back to earlier periods of Danish history, in order to define a sense of national identity. The image is self-consciously conservative, using historical references to reinforce existing social norms and institutions. As historians, we can better understand the cultural and political context of this work by examining primary sources from the period, such as court records, legal documents, and personal letters. These resources shed light on the social conditions that shaped artistic production and the public role of art in Denmark.