Barnestudie, hoved og overkrop 1671 - 1738

Hendrik Krock made this study of a child's head and torso in an unknown year, using pencil on paper. This sketch exemplifies the kind of academic exercise crucial to the artistic training of the period. In 18th-century Denmark, the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts played a central role in shaping artistic standards. Krock, as court painter and later director of the Academy, was deeply involved in this institutional framework. Drawings like this one served as models for students, instilling a sense of ideal form and technique. The child's soft features and cherubic curls reflect a particular aesthetic preference, but also the social values placed on innocence and youth. To understand this work fully, we need to consider the Academy's curriculum, the artistic theories circulating at the time, and the broader social context that shaped notions of childhood and beauty. Examining these resources allows us to appreciate the complex interplay between artistic practice and institutional power.