Artwork
Portrait of Carl Christian Laurentius Birch
Portrait of Carl Christian Laurentius Birch is an oil painting by the Rococo painting artist Johan Hörner. It dates from 1756 and is held in the collection of the Statens Museum for Kunst.
About this work
Technique & Style
The dimensions reported in the source are unusually large for a portrait, suggesting either a life-size or larger-than-life format.
The portrait is executed in oil paint on canvas, a standard combination for mid-eighteenth-century Scandinavian portraiture. The work measures 383.0 cm in height by 310.0 cm in width, indicating a large-scale format consistent with formal commissioned likenesses of the period. Classified as a painting within the portrait genre, it depicts a child, and the handling reflects the conventions of Johan Hörner's practice as a portraitist working in 1756.
The canvas support and oil medium would have allowed for the layered modeling and detailed facial rendering typical of Hörner's portrait style, though specific condition notes are not documented in the available sources.
The dimensions reported in the source are unusually large for a portrait, suggesting either a life-size or larger-than-life format. No information regarding current condition, restoration history, or specific stylistic analysis (such as brushwork, palette, or compositional handling) is provided in the available sources.
History & Provenance
The Portrait of Carl Christian Laurentius Birch was executed in 1756 by the artist Johan Hörner. Created as an oil painting on canvas, the work depicts a child and is dated to the year 1756. The portrait is currently held in the collection of the Statens Museum for Kunst.
While the specific circumstances of the original commission or the immediate chain of ownership prior to the museum are not detailed in the available records, the work's creation is firmly established in the mid-eighteenth century by Hörner.
Legacy
Portrait of Carl Christian Laurentius Birch, painted by Johan Hörner in 1756, depicts a child and was created as an oil painting on canvas. The work is held in the collection of Statens Museum for Kunst, where it remains on public display. Its status as a representative example of 18th-century Danish portraiture has contributed to scholarly discussions of early Nordic portrait conventions and the development of private patronage in Copenhagen during the mid-1700s.
The painting’s composition and technical execution are frequently cited in studies of Hörner’s role in shaping portraiture within the broader European Rococo tradition.
Overview
The Portrait of Carl Christian Laurentius Birch is an oil painting created by Johan Hörner in 1756. It is a portrait of a young child, held at the Statens Museum for Kunst.
Subject & Meaning
The painting depicts a young boy with bright blue eyes, dressed in a light green coat with pink trim and a black hat adorned with white feathers and a red flower. His round face and flushed cheeks convey a sense of youth and innocence.
Own this work as a print
Artist & collection
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