Søslag 1746 - 1828

C.A. Lorentzen created this small sketch, Søslag, which translates to naval battle, using pencil and wash on paper. Born in Denmark in 1746, Lorentzen witnessed the complex political and military landscape of 18th-century Europe. The sketch depicts ships engaged in combat, rendered with a quick, almost frenzied hand. War was a brutal theater, where the lives of sailors, often from marginalized backgrounds, were gambled in the power struggles between nations. What stories do these ships carry? Who were the individuals aboard, and what fates awaited them? There’s a tension between the romanticized imagery of naval glory and the harsh realities of maritime warfare. Søslag serves as a poignant reminder of the human cost of conflict, urging us to reflect on the narratives we construct around war and its impact on individual lives.