Christian VII, King of Denmark and Norway

The miniature features Christian VII, who was king of Denmark and Norway from 1766 until 1808.¹ This identification is confirmed by the king’s distinctive physiognomy – by his fine, narrow face and high forehead along with his slim bodily frame, and furthermore by the blue sash and the breast star of the Order of the Elephant,the highest Danish order.

We attribute this miniature to the artist Theodor Friedrich Stein, who painted several portraits of Christian VII and his wife. ² He masterfully portrayed the young king in an unusual way. Christian is represented in open countryside with only his head and torso. Dark trees are swaying in a storm and heavy clouds are piling up. The plait of the king’s wig en queue has come undone and is blowing about in the wind. The king’s right hand is pointing towards the reddening sky, but his gaze is turned in the opposite direction,from where the darkness seems to be gathering.

This uncommon depiction possibly alludes to the mentally disturbed personality of the young king and his insecure political position. At his accession to the throne he was already incapable of conducting government business according to his own ideas; in fact, politics at the Copenhagen court were controlled by the cabinet and the senior ministers Moltke and Bernstorff, and by a group of alternating protégés who gained access to the king. In 1784 Christian’s son Frederick had to take over the government from his mentally deranged father, whose medical symptoms would nowadays be interpreted as schizophrenia.³
J. S. O.