Stormen 1843

Johan Thomas Lundbye made this pen drawing, titled "The Storm," sometime in the 1800s. In it, we see a young boy running across a field, chasing after his hat that has been blown off by the wind. Denmark in the 19th century was in the midst of a cultural and national awakening. Artists turned to the natural world, and the simple lives of ordinary people, for inspiration, trying to create a distinct visual language of Danishness. Lundbye, like many of his contemporaries, sought to depict the Danish landscape and its people with a sense of intimacy. What might seem like a simple, almost comical, scene, is also an expression of a broader artistic and cultural movement. To fully understand this work, we might consult the artist's diaries and letters, along with exhibition reviews and other period documents. These kinds of resources help us to understand the social and cultural context in which Lundbye was working.