Castor and Pollux (after the antique)

The central role played by Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg (1783-1853) in Danish painting as ‘father’ of its national school is evident as much from his own work as from the impact he had on several generations of Danish artists, beginning in 1818, when he was appointed professor at the Royal Danish Academy of Art in Copenhagen. Among Eckersberg’s early students was Hansen, who himself became a successful history painter, and ended his career as the Academy’s director. Hansen studied with Eckersberg between 1828 and 1833 and had started attending classes held at the Academy’s plaster cast collection already before. The present drawing, admirable for its controlled execution, is a study after a cast of the so-called San Ildefonso Group, the antique sculpture in the Prado depicting the mythological twins Castor and Pollux. The drawing was entered by Hansen into a drawing competition at the Academy, signed by Eckersberg in his capacity of professor, and marked with an O, to identify Hansen while ensuring his anonymity (see Kryger, op. cit., pp. 212-219).