For examination, please contact the staff in Lyngby.

Exhibited: The Nivaagaard Collection, “Venskabsportrætter fra Rom”, 2016, Cat. No. 10, mentioned p. 27, ill. p. 28. 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 7).

“My passion for philology suffers greatly due to the many interests I have. At this time, my favorite idea is to learn to play the bass and to compose.” However, it was not music that drew Frederik Christian Olsen's attention away from philology, but rather cultural-political and literary interests. He was the chairman of Trykkefrihedsselskabet in 1838, and as the editor of Dansk Folkeblad from 1839 to 1841 and Dansk Folkekalender from 1841 to 1844, he wrote articles about new trends in Danish art and literature. He was involved in the popular education movement and participated in the establishment of country libraries, which were precursors to the later public libraries. From 1844 to 1866, Olsen was the head master of the Viborg Katedralskole, interrupted only by a journey to Italy from 1863 to 1864, during which this portrait was executed.