The Royal Danish CollectionRosenborgCastle historyInterior and objects16 Frederik VI's RoomFrederik VI and family

Frederik VI and family

Frederik VI strolling with his family in Frederiksberg Gardens, around 1813; Watercolour by Johannes Senn. As a consequense of being allied to France during the turbulent years of Napoleon Wars, not having much of a choice though, this period was primarliy influenced by the crucial loss of Norway and the complete defeat against the British navy. Despite of, or more correctly because of, this political decline both danish arts and litterature flourished and as such is presented as the Golden Age in regards to cultural achievements.

One of the denifitive trends in this Golden Age was civil or bourgeois ideals, which appears in many of the paintings of the day, including this one. Typical of this trend is the deliberate lack of pompous symbols accredited to absolute monarchs, as seen, for instance, in the previous room in the painting of Christian VII.

Relations

Frederik VI, 1794

This portrait of the Crown Prince is the earliest known of Frederik (VI) without a wig. The Crown Prince’s natural hair is, however, powdered and combed back. At the end of the 18th century fashion too had been influenced by the philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s radical thinking about the natural. Therefore, wigs, big hairstyles, tight bodice dresses, and richness of detail in clothing were being replaced by a simpler style. The portrait was painted in 1794, and the Crown Prince wears a blue admiral’s uniform. There is uncertainty about whether Jens Juel painted this portrait himself. The great interest in being portrayed by the popular artist meant that he had to get assistance to complete the many commissions. His workshop was for the same reason known as Juel’s ‘portrait factory’ by sharp tongues of the time.

1800-1825

At the beginning of the 19th century, the long peaceful period ended. International relations in connection with the Napoleonic Wars made it difficult for Denmark to stay neutral.

Frederik VI

Frederik VI was the King of Denmark from 1808 and of Norway 1808-1814; son of Christian VII and Caroline Mathilde of Great Britain. He had no male heirs.

Crown Princess Marie and Princess Caroline in Frederiksberg Gardens

Jens Juel painted the Crown Princess with her daughter around 1800. At that time he had been the court portrait painter for 20 years and had painted most of the members of the Royal Family several times. Crown Princess Marie had been portrayed in a more than two metre high painting eight years earlier, while Juel had painted her husband, the later Frederik VI, shortly before his confirmation in 1783. In Juel’s paintings grace is united with realistic depictions. The representation of the country’s Crown Princess walking on her flat feet in a garden without status symbols would have been unthinkable a few decades earlier. With the French Revolution came a liberation of the arts, which Juel had witnessed during his many years travelling abroad, and he was therefore able to live up to the, for the time, modern demands and expectations of art, which were also emerging in Denmark. Interest in the private sphere, family bonds, and the freer expression granted to children were tendencies that were popular at the time and are depicted in the painting. C Zeuthen depicted Frederik VI’s study and bedchamber in a watercolour in 1840 following the king’s death. In the watercolour Juel’s painting can be seen hanging on the wall behind the king’s bed. His white writing desk can be seen on the left of the picture. Today it is part of the Royal Danish Collection and can be seen in room 16 at Rosenborg. The painting was purchased by Rosenborg in 2015 with support from Augustinus Fonden, Ny Carlsbergfondet, and the Danish Ministry of Culture.

Statuette of bronzed gypsum

The statuette of bronzed gypsym portrays king Frederik VI. The military dressing, that marks the king´s appearance on several paintings in this room, is also present with this artifact. The figurine is made in 1810 a time of a deep political crisis in Denmark-Norway in the wake of the Napoleonic Wars. The crisis culminateed with the state bankruptcy of 1813 and the loss of Norway the following year. Those years have been stamped by war and crisis and hence the king is dressed in the uniform of the Royal Life Guard and holds his left hand on the saber, seeking support from the weapon.