The Met explores notions of identity and place in nearly 100 works of 19th-century Danish art
The First Art Newspaper on the Net    Established in 1996 Saturday, November 23, 2024


The Met explores notions of identity and place in nearly 100 works of 19th-century Danish art
Installation view of Beyond the Light: Identity and Place in NineteenthCentury Danish Art, on view January 26–April 16, 2023 at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Photo by Anna-Marie Kellen, courtesy of The Met.



NEW YORK, NY.- Beyond the Light: Identity and Place in Nineteenth-Century Danish Art examines the period formerly known as the Danish Golden Age, a name that belies the economic and political hardships Denmark experienced in the 19th century. Yet this turmoil is what gave rise to a vibrant cultural and philosophical environment with a close-knit community of Danish artists inspired to explore notions of place, identity, and belonging in their work. On view at The Metropolitan Museum of Art on January 26, Beyond the Light places the drawings, oil sketches, and paintings created by these artists firmly in this period, one that witnessed the transformation of a once-powerful Danish kingdom into a small, somewhat marginalized country at the edge of Europe.

The exhibition is organized by The Metropolitan Museum of Art and the J. Paul Getty Museum, in collaboration with SMK – The National Gallery of Denmark.

“Beyond the Light tells a powerful story about shifting borders, national identity, and feelings of belonging and displacement—all themes that resonate with contemporary audiences all over the world,” said Max Hollein, Marina Kellen French Director of The Met. “By focusing mainly on drawings and oil sketches of the period, the exhibition is the first to offer a history of 19th-century Denmark that is more personal and nuanced than the more official one often represented by finished paintings.”

The exhibition features approximately 100 works from The Met collection, SMK – The National Gallery of Denmark, several American public collections, and the private collection of Roberta Olson and Alexander Johnson. It highlights such artists as Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg, Christen Købke, Constantin Hansen, Martinus Rørbye, and Vilhelm Hammershøi as well as lesser-known figures like Anton Melbye, Johan Thomas Lundbye, Peter Christian Skovgaard, and Heinrich Gustav Ferdinand Holm, among others.

Exhibition Overview




The 19th century was one of the most tumultuous periods in Denmark’s history—from the disaster of the Napoleonic Wars and the devastating bombardment of Copenhagen to subsequent bankruptcy and mounting antagonism with Germany. Denmark also went from being one of the oldest absolute monarchies with a thousand-year history to a constitutional democracy. Efforts to restore the nation’s psyche led to a rise in nationalism and, with it, an increased interest in Danish history, customs, culture, and language. This exhibition unfolds in five thematic sections—with an unprecedented focus on drawings—to explore the art of this period as Danish artists navigated a rapidly changing world.

Upon approaching the galleries, visitors will encounter the beautiful Danish landscape through a dramatic, blown-up version of Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg’s expansive Panorama of the Copenhagen Roads (from SMK’s collection) on the outer walls of the exhibition. In this sweeping vista drawn across five sheets of paper, Eckersberg depicts a peaceful view of fishing villages, gardens, forests, harbors, and mills, while also including military batteries and other markers of conflict.

As Denmark’s borders diminished drastically and traditional power structures eroded, Danish artists contemplated their identity and how best to portray themselves and their fellow Danes. The exhibition’s first section features portraits of individual and groups of artists, such as Constantin Hansen’s A Group of Danish Artists in Rome (SMK), demonstrating the strong community working together both at home and abroad. A tension between idealism and realism is evident in many of the portraits from this troubled moment in Denmark’s history, including Johan Vilhelm Gertner’s Portrait of Bertel Thorvaldsen (Olson-Johnson Collection) and Christen Købke’s Portrait of Professor Frederik Christian Sibbern (SMK).

The second section explores how Danish artists portrayed their immediate surroundings and played a part in the growing nationalist movement. Denmark’s first art historian, the ardent nationalist Niels Laurits Høyen, believed that his country’s identity was tied to its distinctive landscape and material culture. He taught at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, organized the Fine Arts Society, and transformed the Royal Collection into a national museum, among other initiatives. After extensive travel through Europe, Høyen embraced the movement to preserve Danish monuments as symbols of national cultural heritage. In response, Danish artists began to draw and paint their country’s cultural, religious, military, and political monuments. Examples include Johan Christian Dahl’s Copenhagen Harbor by Moonlight (The Met), Købke’s Roof Ridge of Frederiksborg Castle with View of Lake, Town and Forest (SMK), and Martinus Rørbye’s Viborg, seen from Asmild Klosterhave near Søndersø (SMK).

The exhibition’s third section takes the artists outside the recognizable edifices of their society and into the forested landscapes, where they explore ideas of time and history. Denmark’s scenery underwent rapid changes in the 19th century due to the effects of industrialization, agricultural expansion, and urban growth. Many Danes, worried they were witnessing the destruction of their homeland, sought to understand their past before irreplaceable traces of it were erased. Danish artists recorded these traces of the ancient world by venturing out into the landscape and observing geological, topographical, and archaeological features—from Johan Thomas Lundbye’s depiction of a Stone Age dolmen at sunset (The Morgan Library & Museum) to Peter Vilhelm Carl Kyhn’s oil sketch of the Kalvebod Strand (Olson-Johnson Collection). Many of the drawings and painted studies from this period were executed on location and are characterized by a heightened awareness of humanity’s connections to and interactions with its surroundings.

Denmark’s picturesque coastline and long maritime history were a source of inspiration for 19th-century Danish artists. The ever-changing sea became an important symbol of national security and pride, especially in the Royal Danish Navy and Danish merchant fleet, as well as a place of adventure, history, and exploration and a means of past and future prosperity. The exhibition’s fourth section consists of pictures exploring the country’s relationship to the water, such as Eckersberg’s Anchors in a Copenhagen Square (SMK), and Anton Melbye’s The English Fleet Anchored at the Town of Beykoz, North of Istanbul (The Met). Another highlight, Rørbye’s romantic painting of Copenhagen’s harbor, titled View from the Citadel Ramparts in Copenhagen by Moonlight (The Met), captures a moment of calm at the formidable but battered citadel amid a time of national upheaval.

The final section moves across the sea to the lands beyond Denmark, as the artists experienced the people and places of Germany, France, Italy, Greece, and Turkey. The Royal Danish Academy, where most 19th-century Danish artists trained, considered a journey abroad integral to an artist’s education. In addition to visiting museums, galleries, and artists’ studios, students were urged to examine the architectural ruins of ancient Rome, and many worked en plein air, or outdoors, for the first time. These drawings and oil sketches reflect the people, customs, architecture, and landscape that the artists experienced during their travels—from Købke’s The Forum, Pompeii, with Vesuvius in the Distance (J. Paul Getty Museum) to Peter Christian Skovgaard’s Olevano (Olson-Johnson Collection)—while speaking to ideas of home, belonging, and travel and return.










Today's News

January 30, 2023

The Met explores notions of identity and place in nearly 100 works of 19th-century Danish art

Zentrum Paul Klee opens an extensive exhibition to the little-known late work of the Catalan artist Joan Miró

Exquisite ceiling designs explored at National Gallery of Art

'Barbara Hepworth: Art & Life' on view at Tate St Ives

Property from the collection of Helena de Kay and Richard Watson Gilder comes to Heritage in February

Exhibition at Hauser & Wirth Somerset celebrates Rodney Graham's multifaceted artistic vision

Tom Verlaine, influential guitarist and songwriter, dies at 73

Stephen Friedman Gallery presents a solo exhibition by German artist Stephan Balkenhol

Mia Hansen-love and the hazy line where real life ends and art begins

Raven Row reopens with 'People Make Television'

Mercer Union presents Lydia Ourahmane's first institutional solo show in Canada

Michael Rosenfeld Gallery exhibits sculptures and works on paper by Harold Cousins

Jenkins Johnson Projects, New York opens 'The Horses Stood Like Men'

Alison Bradley Projects opens Motoyuki Shitamichi's first exhibition in the U.S.

Heritage breaks new ground with CGC-rated games and original artwork in $1.9 million Video Game Auction

Canterbury Museum opens a street art exhibition

'Isaac Julien: Lina Bo Bardi: A Marvellous Entanglement' opens at the Philadelphia Museum of Art

Exhibition presents inventive installations which explore the rich and complex history of the Middle East region

The Montclair State University Galleries opens two new exhibitions this spring

'Jessica Drenk: Reclaimed Topographies' opens at Heather Gaudio Fine Art

Brookgreen Gardens display works by iconic French sculptor Auguste Rodin

The Manetti Shrem Museum presents 'Mike Henderson: Before the Fire, 1965-1985'

The unlikely bookstore of my dreams

For the first time ever, I'm optimistic about women in the movie world

Best Practices For Using Random Video Chat for Safe Communication

How To Get Twitch Partner In 2023

Who Is The Best Nail File Manufacturer in 2023?

The Ultimate Comparison Between China Sourcing and DIY Sourcing

Finding The Right Flooring Installation Contractor: Tips For Choosing Wisely




Museums, Exhibits, Artists, Milestones, Digital Art, Architecture, Photography,
Photographers, Special Photos, Special Reports, Featured Stories, Auctions, Art Fairs,
Anecdotes, Art Quiz, Education, Mythology, 3D Images, Last Week, .

 



Founder:
Ignacio Villarreal
(1941 - 2019)
Editor & Publisher: Jose Villarreal
Art Director: Juan José Sepúlveda Ramírez
Writer: Ofelia Zurbia Betancourt

Attorneys
Truck Accident Attorneys
Accident Attorneys
Holistic Dentist
Abogado de accidentes
สล็อต
สล็อตเว็บตรง

Royalville Communications, Inc
produces:

ignaciovillarreal.org juncodelavega.com facundocabral-elfinal.org
Founder's Site. Hommage
to a Mexican poet.
Hommage
       

The First Art Newspaper on the Net. The Best Versions Of Ave Maria Song Junco de la Vega Site Ignacio Villarreal Site Parroquia Natividad del Señor
Tell a Friend
Dear User, please complete the form below in order to recommend the Artdaily newsletter to someone you know.
Please complete all fields marked *.
Sending Mail
Sending Successful