PROMPT: Describe
the Danish Golden Age of painting and explain how the artists and their work
helped shape the perception of the Danish landscape.
Today we
visited the Hirschsprung Collection, which featured paintings from the Golden Age
of Denmark. The contributions of artists and their works during this specific
time period helped shape the perception of the Danish landscape and also helped
bring a sense of national pride for one of the first times.
Through
these pieces, the Danes could derive their identity from the landscapes. In the early Golden Age of painting in
Denmark, idealistic portrayals of reality were seen through colorful,
near-perfect aesthetics. Little evidence
of the painters’ brushstrokes could be seen. Some painters would “perfect” the
landscape by slightly altering the painting to be more appealing to the
eye. In the early Golden Age, nature was
depicted as a sublime and glorious force.
The dramatization of the landscapes during this time can be attributed
to the crisis Denmark was in. During the
early to middle 1800’s, Denmark was constantly losing land to surrounding nations and
was dealing with national bankruptcy. The
paintings gave the Danish people a way to escape the present problems, while
creating an association between the landscapes, optimism, and history. The grandiose paintings helped instill a
feeling of national pride and identity by showing off the natural beauty that
Denmark still had despite major national issues.
As the
Golden Age continued, artists began to demonstrate impressionistic techniques
in their artwork. Many artists studied
abroad in France and began learning the impressionist style. They then brought it back to Denmark. Not only was there a shift in technique (ex.
larger more visible brush strokes) but there was a major focus change in the
paintings itself. There was an obvious
shift away from painting only idealistic nature to beginning to incorporate humans
and realistic daily activities in the paintings. The scenery was less dramatic and depicted the mood of the subject in the painting. Nature was still a major aspect of these
later Golden Age pieces but it served as more of a vehicle for showing other
things happening such as recreation, self-reflection, or even non-visual psychological
pain (demonstrated through symbolism).
 |
| Autumn Landscape by J. Th Lundbye in 1847. Source http://www.hirschsprung.dk/Image.aspx?id=13&col=5 |
In the above picture, the large hill in the center of the piece is a burial mound. Artists from Denmark were beginning to become heavily influenced by the evolving archaeological field. This artist incorporated history and the newfound interest of discovery below earth into his painting.
 |
| An example of a painting where symbolism is being used. This portrays a blind lady grieving over the loss of her husband. |
 |
| A piece using the impressionist style. This piece was also social commentary about gender roles. The boys are able to run freely naked into the water while the younger girl needs to wait on the shore. |
