Artwork
Skuespillerinden Johanne Cathrine Rosing

Skuespillerinden Johanne Cathrine Rosing is an oil painting by Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg. It dates from 1809 and is held in the collection of the Statens Museum for Kunst.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
Eckersberg’s rendering emphasizes her identity as a performer by presenting her in a quiet, inward pose rather than a staged theatrical setting.
The portrait depicts the Danish actress Johanne Cathrine Rosing, active in Copenhagen’s theater life around the early nineteenth century. Eckersberg’s rendering emphasizes her identity as a performer by presenting her in a quiet, inward pose rather than a staged theatrical setting. She holds a closed book, which likely signals her engagement with literature and learning beyond the stage, aligning with Enlightenment-era ideals of the cultivated artist-intellectual.
The restrained palette and controlled lighting focus attention on her facial expression, conveying a sense of quiet professionalism and personal dignity rather than overt drama.
Technique & Style
The painting is executed in oil on canvas, a conventional support for 19th-century Danish portraiture. The work measures 36 centimeters in height by 29 centimeters in width, reflecting the modest scale typical of indoor portrait commissions of the period. Rendered in a restrained academic style, the composition emphasizes precise draftsmanship and a smooth surface finish, characteristic of Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg’s mature technique.
The sitter, Johanne Cathrine Rosing, is depicted with a book, suggesting both education and domestic virtue, while the handling of light and coloration demonstrates a controlled modeling of form without overt theatricality.
History & Provenance
The portrait Skuespillerinden Johanne Cathrine Rosing was painted by Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg in 1809, as recorded in the artist’s oeuvre and confirmed by the Statens Museum for Kunst’s holdings.
The work entered the collection of the Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen, where it has remained since acquisition. Its dimensions are recorded as 36 cm in height and 29 cm in width, executed in oil on canvas.
The portrait of actress Johanne Cathrine Rosing is held in the collection of the Statens Museum for Kunst. Painted by Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg in 1809, the work is executed in oil on canvas and measures 36 by 29 centimeters. The provided sources confirm the painting's location and physical attributes but do not contain specific inventory or accession numbers, nor do they list any exhibitions in which the work has been displayed.
Overview
Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg painted the oil portrait titled Skuespillerinden Johanne Cathrine Rosing in 1809. The canvas is held by Denmark’s National Gallery, Statens Museum for Kunst, and presents a seated woman in a white dress with a ruffled collar, her short, curled hair framing a direct gaze toward the viewer.
Context
Created during the formative years of Denmark’s Golden Age of Painting, the work reflects Eckersberg’s emerging role as a central figure in the movement. His portraiture contributed to a broader national effort to document contemporary cultural figures through a sober, realistic visual language.
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Artist & collection
Artist
Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg
Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg (2 January 1783 – 22 July 1853) was a Danish painter.










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