Exhibited: The Nivaagaard Collection, “Venskabsportrætter fra Rom”, 2016, Cat. No. 4, mentioned p. 20, ill. p. 21. Brigham Young University Museum of Art, “Lasting Impressions: Etchings and Drawings by Carl Bloch”, 2018.

Provenance: Circolo Scandinavo / Skandinavisk Forening i Rom (Inv. No. A 9).

The Norwegian art historian Lorentz Dietrichson played a central role in fostering the Nordic culture and sense of community in the Scandinavian countries as well as during his stay in Rome. Dietrichson resided in Rome in the years 1862–1865, where he, as the librarian in Skandinavisk Forening, became a unifying figure in the association's literary circle, which among others included the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen (1828–1906). Lorentz Dietrichson managed to visit almost every country in Europe and became a popular lecturer on subjects such as literature, art history, and the art industry. Throughout his life, he wrote articles about art in Norwegian, Swedish, and Danish newspapers and published great scientific works on Scandinavian literary history. His interest in the common Scandinavian identity brought him a large circle of friends, including both Scandinavian scientists, politicians, and notably artists, and among them was Carl Bloch.