Mølle 1893

Hans Christian Gether Caspersen made this print of a windmill using etching, sometime in the early 20th century. Here, the windmill is placed against an expansive sky, but the focus is on the small, rural details: the figures by the cottage, the grazing horse, and the fence. This quiet scene reflects the cultural values of early 20th-century Denmark, where there was a growing interest in celebrating rural life and national identity through art. Institutions like the Statens Museum for Kunst played a key role in promoting these ideas, shaping the narrative of Danish art history. Was Caspersen’s work a consciously conservative depiction of the old ways of life? Perhaps he was critiquing the growth of urban life? To understand this work better, we can look at the history of the etching tradition in Denmark and study the cultural debates of the time. By doing so, we recognize that art's meaning is always tied to its social and institutional context.