Vers. Side 34 1840 - 1844

Johan Thomas Lundbye created this page of script, 'Vers. Side 34' with pen and ink. Here we see two different styles of script which seem to be two different poems or prose. Looking at this page, we can see visual codes that create meaning through cultural references and historical associations. Lundbye was writing in Denmark, likely in the 1840s when social and political reform movements swept across Europe. Lundbye was a nationalist. This interest in national identity often drew on folklore and traditions. Given the title "Elkenig," this section of script is likely referring to the poem by Goethe. The poem tells the story of the Erlking, a supernatural being who lures children to their deaths. The poem has been interpreted as an allegory for the dangers of the natural world, or as a commentary on the power of death. Lundbye's own death at a young age during war lends itself to such interpretations of mortality and the cost of political conflict. To understand art like this, historical research helps us to better understand the social and institutional contexts in which art is made. It is contingent on the time and place in which it was made.