Dame med udbredte arme. Bag hende en turbanklædt mand 1768 - 1771

C.A. Lorentzen created this pencil drawing titled 'Dame med udbredte arme. Bag hende en turbanklædt mand' but the date is unknown. The image presents a woman with outstretched arms, a turbaned man lurking behind her. It evokes the theatrical melodramas popular in Europe, particularly in the late 18th century. These dramas often depicted scenes of high emotion, virtue, and exoticism reflecting Europe’s fascination with the ‘Orient’ during the Enlightenment. The turbaned figure suggests a cultural ‘other,’ a figure of mystery or threat, seen through the lens of European colonial expansion and the associated power dynamics. The sketch might be a preparatory study for a larger painting or stage design, a common practice at a time when art served both entertainment and political purposes. Analysing playbills, costume designs, and travel literature from the period can help us understand the narratives and the cultural biases that shaped such images. Art, as we see here, is deeply embedded in its time, reflecting social attitudes and institutional practices that historians can help unpack.