Jerichau and Læssøe first met at the Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen in the mid-1830s, when they both were only about 20 years old. They developed a very warm and lifelong friendship. In his memoirs, Jerichau expresses himself very lovingly about the beginning of their friendship (in Danish):

“In this period, a young painter, Thorald Læssøe, had seen me and felt affection and kindness for me; he sought me out as often as he could at Lundbye, a mutual friend, and the eagerness with which he pursued me overcame all obstacles, so I received one benefit after another from him, and no man has done for me what he has, and it will probably be difficult to find the same devoted friendship that this man has shown me, so, though in his whole life he has done much good to many people, it seems nothing against the unselfish friendship he has shown me.” (Nicolaj Bøgh, “Erindringer af og om Jens Adolf Jerichau”, 1884).

Johan Th. Lundbye (1818–1848) attended the Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen at the same time as Jerichau and Læssøe and was also a close friend of the two, as also appears from the above quotation. Lundbye has portrayed Læssøe in a small oil painting from 1836, when Læssøe was about 21 years old (The National Gallery of Denmark Inv. No. KMS4571). The present drawing must be from the same period. Although the perspective of the present drawing is very unusual, and we thus see Læssøe obliquely from above and with lowered eyelids, we are looking at the same very young and sensitive man, with a thick, slightly unruly hair.

The two friends lived and had a studio together in Rome in Via Margutta in the mid-40s. The strong friendship continued unabated after Jerichau married the artist Elisabeth Jerichau Baumann (1819–1881) in Rome in 1846.

Elisabeth herself became a close friend of Læssøe. Among other things, she writes home from London in May 1860 (in Danish): “Never (underlined), with the exception of T Læssøe, have I met fellow human beings who in a more dignified and loving way thinks of and works for the well-being of others, both for the individual and for the common good.” (Sine Krogh and Birgitte Fink, “Breve fra London”, Cph. 2017, p. 129). She herself paints a portrait of an older Thorald Læssøe in 1868 - this was acquired by the National Gallery of Denmark at Bruun Rasmussen in 2021 (Inv. No. KMS9034).

The fact that the married couple Jerichau Baumann named their first-born son Thorald (1848–1909) after Læssøe also testifies to the close and significant friendship.

Provenance: By descent in the family of Thorald Læssøe until today.