Artwork
Den danske Comedies Ligbegængelse, 5. scene
Den danske Comedies Ligbegængelse, 5. scene is an oil painting by Christian August Lorentzen. It dates from 1815 and is held in the collection of the Statens Museum for Kunst.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
Executed in oil on canvas in 1815, the work measures roughly 605 by 740 and is housed in the Statens Museum for Kunst.
The painting shows a cemetery landscape that includes a Christian cross, a group of figures and a man identified as Ludvig Holberg, illustrating a scene from a Danish comedy. The presence of the cross and the burial setting conveys themes of mortality and the transience of social status, while the inclusion of a theatrical character links the moral commentary of the comedy to broader Enlightenment ideas about human frailty. Executed in oil on canvas in 1815, the work measures roughly 605 by 740 and is housed in the Statens Museum for Kunst. Its iconography combines religious symbolism with theatrical representation to critique societal norms.
Technique & Style
Executed in oil on canvas, the work measures 605 cm in height and 740 cm in width, a large-scale format typical of Lorentzen’s public commissions. The handling is fluid yet controlled, with broad, descriptive brushwork that defines figures and setting without dissolving into sketchiness.
The composition balances a dense foreground group of mourners against a receding cemetery path, where a prominent Christian cross anchors the scene’s moralizing tone. Figures are rendered with volumetric solidity, their gestures and facial expressions articulated through restrained chiaroscuro rather than linear precision. The palette relies on earthy browns, blacks, and muted greens, punctuated by the white of shrouds and the red of a flag, lending a restrained yet theatrical gravity to the burial ritual.
History & Provenance
Christian August Lorentzen created the oil painting Den danske Comedies Ligbegængelse, 5. scene in 1815. The work depicts a genre scene featuring a group of humans, a cemetery, a Christian cross, and the figure of Ludvig Holberg. Executed on canvas, the painting measures 605 cm by 740 cm. The artwork is currently held in the collection of the Statens Museum for Kunst, where it remains located.
Context
Den danske Comedies Ligbegængelse, 5. scene, painted by Christian August Lorentzen in 1815, exemplifies early Danish genre painting through its oil on canvas depiction of a cemetery, a cross, and figures associated with Ludvig Holberg. The work is housed in the collection of Statens Museum for Kunst, where it has been examined in scholarly studies of Lorentzen’s oeuvre as a bridge between neoclassical narrative and emerging Romantic sensibilities. Critical reception of the piece is noted for its role in illustrating the theatrical influences on visual art during Denmark’s Enlightenment era, a context highlighted in recent art‑historical literature.
Overview
Christian August Lorentzen's oil painting, "Den danske Comedies Ligbegængelse, 5. scene," created in 1815, depicts a somber genre scene. The artwork portrays a small crowd gathered around a coffin within a cemetery setting. This piece is part of the permanent collection at the Statens Museum for Kunst, offering insight into early 19th-century Danish artistic themes and narrative approaches.
Artist & collection
Artist
Christian August Lorentzen (1749–1828) was an artist, born in Sønderborg.
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Den Stundesløse, I akt, 6. scene
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