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Simo and his former slave Sosia. From Terence´s Andria.

Nicolai Abildgaard1803

SMK - Statens Museum for Kunst

SMK - Statens Museum for Kunst
Copenhagen, Denmark

After a broken and unhappy marriage, Abildgaard met his second wife Juliane Marie some time before 1800. This new, reinvigorating relationship introduced new themes in his art, leading him to address aspects of love.

Scenes from Terence's romantic comedy

During the time after 1800 he created four large canvases to be placed in the residence provided for the couple at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts at Charlottenborg, filling them with scenes from the ancient writer Terence’s romantic comedy Andria.

Connection between Terence and Abildgaard

In the painter’s version of the complicated dramatic intrigues, they begin when the central character, Simo, asks his black chef Sosia to pretend that he is hastening the marriage of Simo’s son.

The scene in the foreground links Terence and Abildgaard through a sequence of allusions: Terence was a slave who had been given his freedom, and in the picture Abildgaard based the black chef’s appearance on a medal that he himself designed on the occasion of the Danish ban on slavery.

In the play the chef is in fact also a liberated slave, and the playwright was from Africa himself. In the last picture in the series, Abildgaard makes an appearance accompanied by his wife and child - providing a kind of counter-signature to balance out the first picture’s introduction of the playwright.

Details

  • Title: Simo and his former slave Sosia. From Terence´s Andria.
  • Creator: Nicolai Abildgaard
  • Creator Lifespan: 1743 København - 1809 Sorgenfri
  • Creator Nationality: Danish
  • Creator Gender: Male
  • Creator Death Place: Sorgenfri
  • Creator Birth Place: København
  • Date Created: 1803
  • Værktekst: Efter et forlist og ulykkeligt ægteskab mødte Abildgaard i tiden før 1800 sin anden kone, Juliane Marie. Det nye, forløsende forhold gav hans kunsts indholdsside en ny retning, hvor han beskæftigede sig med sider af kærlighedslivet. Scener fra Terents' elskovskomedie I tiden efter 1800 fyldte han fire store lærreder til parrets embedsbolig i Kunstakademiet på Charlottenborg med scener fra den antikke forfatter Terents’ elskovskomedie Pigen fra Andros. En forbindelse mellem Terents og Abildgaard Den indviklede teaterintrige tager i malerens version her sin begyndelse, ved at den centrale figur, Simo, beder sin sorte kok Sosia om at lade som om, han fremskynder Simos søns bryllup. Forgrundens optrin knytter Terents og Abildgaard sammen ved et forløb af hentydninger: Terents var en frigiven slave, og Abildgaard har her hentet den sorte koks udseende fra en medalje, han selv havde udført i anledning af det danske forbud mod slavehandel. I skuespillet er kokken netop en frigiven slave, og komedieforfatteren var i øvrigt selv fra Afrika. I seriens sidste billede dukker Abildgaard selv op med sin kone og barn - i en art kontrasignatur til det indledende billedes introduktion af skuespillets forfatter.
  • Teknik: Olie på lærred
  • Proveniens: Køb 1849
  • Provenance: Acquired 1849
  • Physical Dimensions: w142 x h157.5 cm (Without frame)
  • Dansk link: http://www.smk.dk/index.php?id=2661
  • Dansk Titel: Simo betror sin frigivne Sosia sine bekymringer over sin søns forhold til pigen fra Andros. Motiv fra Terents: Pigen fra Andros.
  • Type: Painting
  • Rights: Statens Museum for Kunst, http://www.smk.dk/en/copyright/creative-commons/
  • Medium: Oil on canvas

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