Figure Study for Christian IV founding Christiania

Adolph Tidemand's 1876 figure study for his major historical composition 'Christian IV Founding Christiania' captures a preparatory stage in the production of the large public history painting that was one of the important Norwegian historical subjects of the era. The founding of Christiania — the capital renamed Christiania by Christian IV in 1624 — was a significant event in Norwegian urban history, and a painting commemorating it served both historical and civic purposes. Tidemand's preparatory studies preserve the working process through which he assembled the complex multi-figure composition of such an ambitious historical canvas.

The figure study is a focused preparatory exercise, establishing the pose, costume, and physical type of a specific character who will appear in the finished composition. Tidemand's handling is economical and functional, the academic draftsmanship underlying his mature style clearly evident in the figure construction.