The wine merchant to the Danish court Christian Waagepetersen (1787–1840) was one of the Danish Golden Age’s most well-known patrons and an avid art and music lover. Among his most famous commissions is “”Familien Waagepetersen“ (the Waagepetersen Family”) by Wilhelm Bendz (The National Gallery of Denmark) as well as “Et musikalsk aftenselskab” (A Musical Evening Party) by Wilhelm Marstrand (The Museum of National History at Frederiksborg Castle). Waagepetersen’s home was a cultural gathering place and over time came to house an extensive collection of paintings (including Marstrand’s famous “Gadescene i Hundedagene” (Street Scene During the Dog Days)). Louis Aumont was also among Waagepetersen’s favourite artists and made at least five small portraits of the members of the family (see Claus M. Smith’s “Hos hofvinhandleren i Store Strandstræde: En københavnsk mæcen fra Frederik VIs tid”, Nivaagaard’s Collection, 1985). The far more representative portrait here, is of the head of the family himself and has so far only been known to exist due to a family-owned daguerreotype (Bjørn Ochsner: “Fotografiet i Danmark 1840–1940”, Copenhagen,1974 reproduced p. 11).

The portrait here received quite a lot of media coverage. First in the Danish newspaper Kiøbenhavnsposten on 24 September 1829: "Our young, genius portrait painter Aumont returned home this spring, after a three-year stay in Paris. Since his return, he has completed a number of portraits, which are all testimony to the great progress the artist has made under appropriate tutelage. We have seen work by him at art exhibitions, which even in Paris have achieved a great deal of attention and left mister Aumont with more than enough work to deal with. Among the newest of his creations, which we have had the opportunity to make ourselves acquainted with, is a life-size portrait of the purveyor to the court, knight Waagepetersen. We cannot find a better way to express our opinion of this work of art than by admitting that it deserves the place which it is destined to occupy (between two portraits painted by Jens Juul depicting the purveyor’s parents)”.

A few days later, the Danish newspaper Aalborg Stiftstidende writes: “With a striking likeness and a very delicate approach, the portrait stands out in its life-size resemblance of the purveyor to the court, Sir Waagepetersen. The artist is payed for a portrait like the latter with 100 specier.”