Anna Dorthea på dødslejet. Illustrationsudkast til H.C. Andersen, Vinden fortæller om Valdemar Daae og hans Døtre 1869 - 1870

Lorenz Frølich made this pen and ink drawing, Anna Dorthea on her deathbed, as an illustration for Hans Christian Andersen's story about Valdemar Daae and his daughters. Here, Frølich visualizes a scene of rural poverty in 19th-century Denmark, where old age often meant hardship and dependence. Look at the humble dwelling. A thatched roof seems to meld with the woman’s deathbed. Death was a familiar part of life, and the stork perched on the roof reinforces a view of nature that contains both birth and death. In the original tale, Andersen highlights the contrast between old folk beliefs and rational views. We can see how Denmark struggled to reconcile its agrarian past with the rise of industrial society in the 1800s. To understand the social and cultural context of art like this, we look at popular literature, newspapers, and records of everyday life to examine how artists were responding to the world around them.