• Emil Bærentzen

  1799-1868

Portrait of the Actress Johanne Luise Heiberg

• Production Date

  1841

• Type of Work / Object

  Painting > Portrait

• Location

  • Not on display

• Inventory Number

  B205

• Catalogue Number

  B205

• Catalogue Level / Collection

  Thorvaldsen's Collections > Collection of Paintings (B)

Explanation

• The portrait of Johanne Louise was painted in 1841 after being commissioned by Thorvaldsen. He had often enjoyed her great talent as an actress. With this commission, Thorvaldsen killed two birds with one stone. In the first place, he obtained a portrait of his favourite actress, and secondly, it gave him the opportunity to have the painter Bærentzen represented in his collection. The 29-year-old actress, who became a legendary figure in the history of the Danish stage, is holding her head to one side in a slightly coquettish manner, and there is just the suggestion of a smile on her lips. Thorvaldsen is said to have been extremely pleased with the painting, but Bærentzen has probably not quite caught the powerful erotic aura his model is said to have possessed.

Motif / Theme

• Human > Woman > Johanne Luise Heiberg

Additional Catalogue Information