Where can I see Portrait of Susanne Cecilie Købke, née Købke, the Artist´s Wife?

Portrait of Susanne Cecilie Købke, née Købke, the Artist´s Wife is held by Statens Museum for Kunst.

What movement is Portrait of Susanne Cecilie Købke, née Købke, the Artist´s Wife?

Portrait of Susanne Cecilie Købke, née Købke, the Artist´s Wife is associated with German Romanticism.

Artwork

Portrait of Susanne Cecilie Købke, née Købke, the Artist´s Wife

Portrait of Susanne Cecilie Købke, née Købke, the Artist´s Wife is an oil painting by the German Romanticist artist Christen Købke. It dates from 1836 and is held in the collection of the Statens Museum for Kunst. Created in 1836, this oil portrait presents Susanne Cecilie Købke, the artist’s wife, seated in a chair and looking directly at the viewer.

About this work

Overview

Created in 1836, this oil portrait presents Susanne Cecilie Købke, the artist’s wife, seated in a chair and looking directly at the viewer. The composition is simple, set against a uniform dark backdrop that isolates the figure and emphasizes her facial features and attire.

Subject & Meaning

The sitter is rendered with a calm, neutral expression; her brown hair is gathered in an up‑do with loose curls framing her face, and she rests her hands together on her lap. The modest brown dress with puffed sleeves, green skirt and matching scarf suggest a restrained domestic elegance typical of early‑19th‑century Danish middle‑class attire.

Technique & Style

Købke employs a restrained palette and subtle chiaroscuro, allowing the light to fall on the woman's face and upper body while the background remains in deep shadow. The brushwork is precise yet soft, capturing the texture of fabric and the delicate modeling of skin, hallmarks of the Danish Golden Age’s attention to realistic detail.

History & Provenance

The portrait has been part of the Statens Museum for Kunst collection since its acquisition, representing Købke’s mature period within the Danish Golden Age. As a personal work depicting his wife, it offers insight into his private sphere and complements his broader oeuvre of intimate, observational paintings.

Portrait of Susanne Cecilie Købke, née Købke, the Artist´s Wife, Unknown

Artist & collection

Artist

Christen Købke

Christen Schiellerup Købke (26 May 1810 – 7 February 1848) was a Danish painter, and one of the best-known artists from the Golden Age of Danish Painting.