Portræt af møntmester J.F. Freund 1820 - 1823

Curator: What a beautifully subtle sketch! It reminds me of peering into someone's thoughts, unfinished and ethereal. Editor: Agreed, there's a vulnerability to it. We’re looking at C.A. Jensen's "Portræt af møntmester J.F. Freund," created between 1820 and 1823, housed at the SMK – Statens Museum for Kunst. Notice how the artist uses the pencil. We have very delicate lines on this lightly toned paper. Curator: It’s as if Jensen wanted to capture Freund's essence rather than achieve perfect anatomical accuracy. The muted palette definitely gives a sense of immediacy; like a fleeting impression jotted down in a personal sketchbook. Editor: Precisely! And let's consider the subject himself, a mint master. Someone intimately connected with the production and circulation of currency—the tangible stuff of societal exchange. Jensen depicts Freund not as a man of wealth or power, but with an introspective calm. I’m also taken with the very slight underdrawing. Curator: That's a lovely point; the contrast between the power associated with minting money, and the private vulnerability of this portrayal. He almost looks a little windswept to me! Editor: Perhaps reflecting the economic uncertainties of the period! Jokes aside, there’s an intimacy fostered by the drawing. Pencil lends itself to working in relative domesticity. Curator: True. It pulls this piece away from being simply an elite commissioned artwork, but allows a real engagement with Freund. There’s real artistry in using the modesty of pencil and paper to elicit that feeling, don’t you think? Editor: Definitely. The choice of such accessible materials challenges any preciousness associated with fine art portraiture. And to think, these marks on paper have survived centuries! Curator: It really gives you pause, doesn't it? Makes you wonder what other stories lie dormant in other overlooked sketches, and what quiet moments shaped the lives of those long gone.