Abstract
Thor Mednick’s essay considers how the depiction of agricultural scenes in Danish Romantic painting engaged with emergent, national Romantic ideology. Historians of Danish Romantic painting have long recognized that landscape paintings informed and reinforced the construction of national identities and more recent studies have framed such canvases concretely as vital touchstones in the persuasion of the Danish electorate in the 1840s and through the early days of constitutional sovereignty. Mednick expands on this scholarship here, showing how depictions of Danish agricultural scenes in particular are often less concerned with celebrating the Danish landscape as a ‘Romantic’ index of memory and historical identity than with emphasizing that landscape as the locus of lived experience and a nexus of emergent modernity.
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Notes
- 1.
For a brief summary of the rise of landscape painting in Denmark, see Henrik Bramsen. Fra rokoko til guldalder. Ny Dansk Kunsthistorie, vol. 3. Copenhagen: Fogtdal, 1994, 233–251. Translations are by Mednick unless otherwise noted.
- 2.
See, for instance, Janne Gallen-Kallela-Sirén, “Territorializing Nature: Landscape Painting and the Rise of Nordic Nationalism,” in Torsten Gunnarsson, et al. A Mirror of Nature: Nordic Landscape Painting 1840–1910. Exh. Cat. Copenhagen: Statens Museum for Kunst, 2006, 210–214.
- 3.
Tine Damsholt, “En national turist i det patriotiske landskab,” in Fortid og Nutid (March 1999): 25.
- 4.
See Henrik Bredmose Simonsen. Da guldalderen kom til Søhøjlndet: Vilhelm Kyhn og Andre Landskabsmalere på Himmelbjergegnen. Skanderborg: Turbine and Museum Skanderborg, 2020. Denmark’s first Constitution was ratified in 1849.
- 5.
Karina Lykke Grand and Gertrud Oelsner, “Visuelle Konfliktzoner og Kulturkampe i Dansk Kunst,” in Sissel Bjerrum Fossat, Rasmus Glenthøj, and Lone Kølle Martinsen, eds. Konfliktzonen Danmark: Stridende fortællinger om nyere dansk historie. Copenhagen: Gads, 2018, 161–162.
- 6.
See, for instance, Gry Hedin, “Naturiagttagelser: nye forbindelser mellem kunst of videnskab,” in Peter Nørgaard Larsen, et al. Dansk Guldalder: Verdenskunst mellem to katastrofer. Exh. Cat. Copenhagen: Statens Museum for Kunst, 2019, 173–187; and Gertrud Oelsner, “Jylland – En dansk koloni? Landskabmaleri i udkanten,” in Nørgaard Larsen, et al., 2019, 279–293.
- 7.
Karina Lykke Grand, “Det nye blik,” in K.L. Grand., L. Pennington, and A.M. Thomsen, eds. Guld: skatte fra den danske guldalder/ Gold: treasures from the Danish Golden Age. Exh. Cat. Aarhus: Systime Academic, 2013, 166–99.
- 8.
Ibid., 183. For a useful summary of these expectations, see Malcolm Andrews. Landscape and Western Art. Oxford History of Art. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999, 129–49.
- 9.
See, for instance, Kasper Monrad, “The Nordic contributions to romanticism in the visual arts,” European Review 8, 2 (2000): 173–83; Thor J. Mednick, “Principle and Practice in Nineteenth-Century Danish Landscape Painting,” in Michelle Facos, ed. A Companion to Nineteenth-Century Art. London: Wiley, 2018, 335–52.
- 10.
Monrad, 175.
- 11.
Ibid., 173–5.
- 12.
Michelle Facos, An Introduction to 19th-Century Art. London: Routledge, 2011, 248.
- 13.
Ibid., 258.
- 14.
See, for instance, Lise Jeppesen, “Kunstnerbrødre – Introduktion,” in Jeppesen, ed. Kunstnerbrødre: L.A. Ring & H.A. Brendekilde. Exh. Cat. Randers: Randers Kunstmuseum Forlag, 2018, 11–41.
- 15.
Peter Michael Hornung, “H.A. Brendekilde: Den samfundskritiske Realist der byttede oprøret ud med idyllen,” in Jeppesen, ed., 2018, 70.
- 16.
Jens Engberg. Det daglige Brød: Bønder og arbejdere, 1650–1900. Copenhagen: Politikens Forlag, 2011.
- 17.
Facos (2011, 219–22).
- 18.
Jeppe Nevers. Det produktive samfund: Seks kapitler af industrialiseringens idéhistorie. Odense: Syddansk Universitetsforlag, 2013, 12.
- 19.
As Gertrud Oelsner has observed, there is a general tendency in Hammershøi’s landscapes to occlude the viewer from imaginary entry into the scene. See Gertrud Oelsner, “Øjebliksbilleder: om P.S. Krøyer, Julius Paulsen og Vilhelm Hammershøi,” in Annette Johansen and Mette Bøgh Jensen, eds. Harmoni i Blåt. Exh. Cat. Skagen: Skagensmuseum, 2001, 83–91.
- 20.
According to Lulu Salto Stephensen, forest, part, heath, and coastal motifs were also prominent. See Lulu Salto Stephensen, “Konstruerede landskaber, Om den æstetiske opfattelse af natur set ud fra et kuntsnerisk og et fredningsmæssigt synspunkt,” in Gertrud Oelsner, ed. Udsigt til Guldalderen. Exh. Cat. Maribo: Storstrøms Kunstmuseum, 2005, 49–52.
- 21.
See Finn Løkkegaard. Danmarks Industrialisering, 1840–1990. Copenhagen: Dansk Industri, 1994, 9, and Henriksen, Ingrid, “An economic History of Denmark,” in EH.Net Encyclopedia. Robert Whaples, ed. October 6, 2006. http://eh.net/encyclopedia/an-economic-history-of-denmark/.
- 22.
Thorkild Kjærgaard, “Landbrugets betydning i samfundet – set i et historisk perspektiv,” in Al den snak om landbrug – selvopfattelse, image, og omdømme. Copenhagen: Landbrugets Oplysnings- og Kursusvirksomhed, 2002, 50.
- 23.
Per Boje. Vejen til velstand: Marked, stat og utopi. Om dansk kapitalismens mange former gennem 300 år. Odense: Syddansk Universitetsforlag, 2014, 30–2.
- 24.
Thorkild Kjærgaard, “Gårdmandslinien i dansk historieskrivning,” Fortid og Nutid 28 (1979): 178–91.
- 25.
See Stig Miss, “Aftenlandet,” in Stig Miss and Birgitte Zacho, eds. Aftenlandet: Motiver og stemninger i dansk landskabsmaleri omkring år 1800. Copenhagen: Thorvaldsens Museum, 2011, 19.
- 26.
For a history of agricultural reforms in Denmark, see O. Christensen, “Jordens Besiddelse og Brug,” in K. Hansen, ed. Det Danske Landbrugs Historie. Vol. 1: Danmarks Jord. Copenhagen: Det Kongelige Danske Landhusholdningsselskab, G.E.C. Gads Forlag, 1925.
- 27.
Christine Overgaard and Jesper Wik. Landbrug og teknik, 1800–1960. Gammel Estrup: Dansk Landbrugsmuseum, 1998, 105–106.
- 28.
Thorkild Kjærgaard, “Det disciplinerede land: En repressive idyl,” in Bente Scavenius, ed. Guldalderens Verden: 20 historier fra nær og fjern. Copenhagen: Gyldendalske Boghandel, Nordisk Forlag, and Golden Days in Copenhagen, 1996, 22.
- 29.
The estate was owned by the family of Brendstrup’s fiancée, Pauline Regine Kierkegaard.
- 30.
Gertrud Oelsner, “Den maleriske kartograf: Thorald Brendstrups sans for steder,” in Gertrud Oelsner and Ingeborg Bugge, eds. Thorald Brendstrup: I guldalderens skygge. Exh. Cat. Aarhus: Aarhus University Press, 2012, 44.
- 31.
Overgaard and Wik. 107–08.
- 32.
Knud J.V. Jespersen. Historien om danskerne, 1500–2000. Copenhagen: Gyldendal, 2007, 183–91.
- 33.
Overgaard and Wik, 110.
Bibliography
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Bramsen, Henrik. ‘Fra rokoko til guldalder’. In Ny Dansk Kunsthistorie, vol. 3, 233–51. Copenhagen: Fogtdal, 1994.
Boje, Per. Vejen til velstand: Marked, stat og utopi. Om dansk kapitalismens mange former gennem 300 år.. Odense: Syddansk Universitetsforlag, 2014.
Christensen, O. ‘Jordens Besiddelse og Brug’. In Det Danske Landbrugs Historie. Vol. 1: Danmarks Jord, edited by K. Hansen. 81–182. Copenhagen: Det Kgl. Danske Landhusholdningsselskab, G.E.C. Gads Forlag, 1925.
Damsholt, Tine. ‘En national turist i det patriotiske landskab’. In Fortid og Nutid (March 1999): 3–26.
Engberg, Jens. Det daglige Brød: Bønder og arbejdere, 1650–1900. Copenhagen: Politikens Forlag, 2011.
Gallen-Kallela-Sirén, Janne. ‘Territorializing Nature: Landscape Painting and the Rise of Nordic Nationalism’.
In A Mirror of Nature: Nordic Landscape Painting 1840–1910. Exhibition Catalogue, edited by Torsten Gunnarsson et al. 210–14. Copenhagen: Statens Museum for Kunst, 2006.
Facos, Michelle. An Introduction to Nineteenth-Century Art. London: Routledge, 2011.
Grand, Karina Lykke. ‘Det nye blik’. In Guld: Skatte fra den danske guldalder/ Gold: Treasures from the Danish Golden Age. Exhibition catalogue, edited by K. L. Grand., L. Pennington, and A.M. Thomsen, 166–99. Aarhus: Systime Academic, 2013.
Grand, Karina Lykke and Gertrud Oelsner, ‘Visuelle konfliktzoner og kulturkampe i dansk kunst’. In Konfliktzonen Danmark: Stridende fortællinger om nyere dansk historie, 160–79, edited by Sissel Bjerrum Fossat, Rasmus Glenthøj, and Lone Kølle Martinsen. Copenhagen: Gads, 2018.
Hedin, Gry. ‘Naturiagttagelser: Nye forbindelser mellem kunst of videnskab’. In Dansk Guldalder: Verdenskunst mellem to katastrofer. Exhibition Catalogue, edited by Peter Nørgaard Larsen et al., 173–87. Copenhagen: Statens Museum for Kunst, 2019.
Henriksen, Ingrid, ‘An Economic History of Denmark’. In EH.Net Encyclopedia, edited by Robert Whaples. October 6, 2006. http://eh.net/encyclopedia/an-economic-history-of-denmark/.
Hornung, Peter Michael. ‘H. A. Brendekilde: Den samfundskritiske realist der byttede oprøret ud med idyllen’, in Kunstnerbrødre. Exhibition Catalogue, edited by Lise Jeppesen, L. A. Ring & H. A. Brendekilde, 39–59. Randers: Randers Kunstmuseum, 2018.
Jeppesen, Lise. ‘Kunstnerbrødre – Introduktion’. In Kunstnerbrødre. Exhibition Catalogue, edited by Lise Jeppesen. L. A. Ring & H. A. Brendekildem, 11–41. Randers: Randers Kunstmuseum, 2018.
Jespersen, Knud J. V. Historien om danskerne, 1500–2000. Copenhagen: Gyldendal, 2007.
Kjærgaard, Thorkild. ‘Gårdmandslinien i dansk historieskrivning’, Fortid og Nutid 28 (1979): 178–91.
Kjærgaard, Thorkild. ‘Det disciplinerede land: En repressive idyl’. In Guldalderens Verden: 20 historier fra nær og fjern, edited by Bente Scavenius, 22–9. Copenhagen: Gyldendalske Boghandel, Nordisk Forlag, and Golden Days in Copenhagen, 1996.
Kjærgaard, Thorkild. ‘Landbrugets betydning i samfundet – set i et historisk perspektiv’. In Al den snak om landbrug – selvopfattelse, image, og omdømme, 50–55. Copenhagen: Landbrugets Oplysnings- og Kursusvirksomhed, 2002.
Løkkegaard, Finn. Danmarks Industrialisering, 1840–1990. Copenhagen: Dansk Industri, 1994.
Mednick, Thor J. ‘Principle and Practice in Nineteenth-Century Danish Landscape Painting’. In A Companion to Nineteenth-Century Art, edited by Michelle Facos, 335–52. London: Wiley, 2018.
Miss, Stig. ‘Aftenlandet’. In Aftenlandet: Motiver og stemninger i dansk landskabsmaleri omkring år 1800, edited by Stig Miss and Birgitte Zacho, 9–23. Copenhagen: Thorvaldsens Museum, 2011.
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Monrad, Kasper. ‘The Nordic Contributions to Romanticism in the Visual Arts’. Randers: Randers Kunstmuseum Forlag, 2018.
Nevers, Jeppe. Det produktive samfund: Seks kapitler af industrialiseringens idéhistorie. Odense: Syddansk Universitetsforlag, 2013.
Oelsner, Gertrud. ‘Øjebliksbilleder: om P. S. Krøyer, Julius Paulsen og Vilhelm Hammershøi’. In Harmoni i Blåt. Exhibition Catalogue, edited by Annette Johansen and Mette Bøgh Jensen, 83–91. Skagen: Skagensmuseum, 2001.
Oelsner, Gertrud. ‘Den maleriske kartograf: Thorald Brendstrups sans for steder’, Thorald Brendstrup: I guldalderens skygge. Exhibition Catalogue, edited by Gertrud Oelsner and Ingeborg Bugge, 25–57. Aarhus: Aarhus University Press, 2012.
Oelsner, Gertrud. ‘Jylland – En dansk koloni? Landskabmaleri i udkanten’. In Dansk Guldalder: Verdenskunst mellem to katastrofer. Exhibition Catalogue, edited by Peter Nørgaard Larsen et al., 279–93. Copenhagen: Statens Museum for Kunst, 2019.
Overgaard, Christine, and Jesper Wik. Landbrug og teknik, 1800–1960. Gammel Estrup: Dansk Landbrugsmuseum, 1998.
Overgaard, Christine and Jesper Wik. Landbrug og teknik: 1800–1960. Gl Estrup: Dansk Landbrugsmuseum, 1998.
Simonsen, Henrik Bredmose. ‘Da guldalderen kom til Søhøjlndet: Vilhelm Kyhn og andre Landskabsmalere på Himmelbjergegnen. Skanderborg: Turbine and Museum Skanderborg, 2020.
Stephensen, Lulu Salto, ‘Konstruerede landskaber, Om den æstetiske opfattelse af natur set ud fra et kunstnerisk og et fredningsmæssigt synspunkt’. In Udsigt til Guldalderen. Exhibition Catalogue, edited by Gertrud Oelsner, 49–52. Maribo: Storstrøms Kunstmuseum, 2005.
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Mednick, T.J. (2022). The Transmission of Material Experience in Nineteenth-Century Danish Landscape Painting. In: Duffy, C., Rix, R.W. (eds) Nordic Romanticism. Palgrave Studies in the Enlightenment, Romanticism and Cultures of Print. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-99127-2_7
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