Artwork
Portræt af kgl. hofapoteker Johann Gottfried Becker
Portræt af kgl. hofapoteker Johann Gottfried Becker is an oil painting by the Rococo painting artist Carl Gustaf Pilo. It dates from 1759 and is held in the collection of the Statens Museum for Kunst.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
As a formal portrait created in 1759 by Carl Gustaf Pilo, the work serves to document the specific individual in his professional capacity.
The painting depicts Johann Gottfried Becker, identified as the Royal Court Apothecary to the Danish king. As a formal portrait created in 1759 by Carl Gustaf Pilo, the work serves to document the specific individual in his professional capacity. The subject is the sole focus of the composition, presenting Becker as the main figure without additional narrative elements or symbolic attributes described in the available records.
The artwork functions as a direct visual representation of this historical figure at the time of its creation.
Technique & Style
Created in 1759, the portrait of Johann Gottfried Becker is executed in oil paint on a canvas support. The work measures 78.7 cm in height and 63.2 cm in width, presenting a standard vertical format for portraiture of the period. As a genre painting classified specifically as a portrait, the piece demonstrates the artist's handling of oil media to depict the royal court apothecary. The physical object is held within the collection of Statens Museum for Kunst.
Legacy
The portrait of court apothecary Johann Gottfried Becker painted by Carl Gustaf Pilo in 1759 has been recognized as an important example of 18th century Danish portraiture and continues to influence scholarly understandings of royal service representation in Danish art. Its presence in the collection of the Statens Museum for Kunst underscores its significance within the national artistic heritage and it is frequently referenced in studies of Pilo's role in shaping portrait conventions for elite figures in colonial administration. The work's detailed rendering of Becker's status and profession provides valuable insight into the social hierarchy of the Danish court during the late 1700s and remains a key reference in exhibitions examining Enlightenment-era medical practitioners in European visual culture.
Overview
This 1759 oil painting, created by Carl Gustaf Pilo, is a portrait of Johann Gottfried Becker, a royal court pharmacist. It is held in the Statens Museum for Kunst collection.
History & Provenance
Pilo, a Swedish painter active in Denmark, served as court painter to the Danish Royal Court and held leadership roles at the Royal Danish Academy of Art, making him Denmark's leading portraitist for over twenty years.
Own this work as a print
Artist & collection
Artist
Carl Gustaf Pilo (5 March 1711 – 2 March 1793) was a Swedish painter. Pilo worked extensively in Denmark as a painter to the Danish Royal Court and as professor and director at the Royal Danish Academy of Art (Danish:…
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