J. L. Lund (1777–1867) was appointed professor at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts at the same time as C.W. Eckersberg was in 1818. Yet Lund has always stood in the shadow of his more famous contemporary and for many years he was almost entirely absent from Danish art history. It was a fate that many Danish artists born in Schleswig-Holstein suffered after Denmark's defeat in 1864.

In 1798, Lund studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen together with Caspar David Friedrich. They became good friends, and at Friedrich's suggestion Lund continued his studies in Dresden together with Friedrich in 1799. In 1800, J. L. Lund painted a portrait of his famous friend and artist colleague. When Lund became a professor at the Academy in Copenhagen, his friendship with Caspar David Friedrich meant that several of his students, who would later become known as truly great representatives of the Danish Golden Age (and most commonly known as “Eckersberg’s Pupils”), visited Friedrich in Dresden and were influenced by his art. This includes artists such as Lundbye, Købke, Petzholdt, Frølich and Sonne.

In 1800, Lund travelled on to Paris, where he, like Eckersberg later did, studied with J. L. David. In 1802, he, also like Eckersberg later did, continued to Rome, where he quickly became a very close friend of Thorvaldsen and joined the artistic community around the sculptor. In Rome, Lund also met the German artist group called the Nazarenes led by Johann Friedrich Overbech. Lund was inspired by their lifestyle and aesthetics that idolised and imitated the work of the early Italian Renaissance, which the Nazarenes added a more emotional, naive and romantic expression. There is no doubt that this more international romantic style, which Lund was heavily inspired by, was a contributing factor to his lack of recognition in the context of Danish art history.

During the last few years, Lund's significance and influence on the art of the Danish Golden Age has slowly become increasingly recognized – at the same time Denmark's Golden Age has been sought placed in a broader international context rather than in a more confined and traditional Danish context.

Lund's romantic style is evident from the self-portrait here, which he made at the age of 50 – the simple white flip under a dark waistcoat, the intense look directly at the viewer, the tall forehead and the wild hair. The Nazarene’s characteristically long wavy hair, however, is missing.