Portrait of a Noblewoman Sophie Hedvig Løvenskiold and her Three-Year-Old Daughter

About this work

The spring of 1817 may have been Eckersberg’s busiest period ever as a portrait painter: he completed eight portraits over this brief period of time. Eckersberg’s excellent reputation is evident from the list of his patrons: portraits were commissioned by members of the royal family as well as by numerous aristocrats and affluent citizens. The eight portraits included this painting, which he completed on 20 June (Eckersberg 2009). Here, Eckersberg has adhered to a type of portrait that was introduced in Denmark by Juel: depictions of mothers with children. In Juel’s works the woman holds the dominant role: that of a loving, caring and protecting mother. By contrast, Eckersberg places the child in such an elevated position that mother and child become almost equal, which makes the painting more reminiscent of a conventional double portrait. However, we cannot conclusively know whether Eckersberg deliberately intended to make the two figures appear equal in this picture.