Exhibited: The Nivaagaard Collection, “Venskabsportrætter fra Rom”, 2016, Cat. No. 6, mentioned p. 22, ill. p. 23. 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 II 2).

The author Vilhelm Bergsøe (1835–1911) included the painter Lars Hansen as a character in “Fra Piazza del Popolo” (1861), a famous Danish novel depicting life among a group of Scandinavians in 19th-century Rome. In his accounts from Rome art historian Frederik Knudtzon (1843–1917) portrays “Gamle Hansen” (old Hansen) as a friendly person, albeit with his quirks. The artist felt persecuted and believed that the world consisted of two types of people: “the Bucks” and “the Sheep”. Unfortunately, Hansen himself belonged to the flock of sheep, subjected to the power and inconsiderate behavior of the bucks. The outspoken Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen (1828–1906), on the other hand, was perceived as one of the leading bucks of the artist colony. However, this did not prevent the Danish painter and Norwegian playwright from forming a close friendship while Hansen served as secretary and librarian of Skandinavisk Forening and Ibsen sat on its board.