Illustration til Kennedy, Anna Ross 1820 - 1887

Editor: This is "Illustration til Kennedy, Anna Ross," dating from 1820 to 1887, by Johan Frederik Rosenstand. It's a woodcut print or drawing, currently housed at the Statens Museum for Kunst. There’s a charming narrative quality to the piece, even though the style looks distinctly like a landscape. The detail in the cross-hatching that creates the forms of the people, horse, and landscape seems quite striking. How would you interpret this work? Curator: Primarily, I would suggest looking past any assumed ‘narrative’ or ‘landscape’. Concentrate instead on the intrinsic visual organization. The composition establishes a clear dichotomy between stasis and motion, consider the static figure leading the horse juxtaposed with the rider’s dynamic gesture. Editor: That's a helpful distinction. So, instead of getting caught up in trying to determine a story, we can appreciate how the figures are carefully constructed to suggest these qualities, like movement. Can you elaborate? Curator: Observe how Rosenstand employs line and form. The rider, poised atop the horse, reaches upward. This, contrasted with the contained pose of the figure walking below. Notice the use of sharp, angular lines to depict the foliage in the background which introduces a chaotic tension into the piece, further underlining dynamism. The eye moves upwards, is it not so? Editor: It is, and even though it’s monochromatic, the areas of denser lines read as areas of value and darker color and those lighter areas give a feeling of spaciousness to the implied landscape! It also seems like these formal devices serve to point out the tension within the illustration? Curator: Precisely! The arrangement of line, tone, and form, rather than any symbolic narrative, produces the piece's intrinsic visual interest. What did you find interesting? Editor: This has been an eye-opening journey! It really reframes the piece. Thank you! Curator: My pleasure. Always look for the structure beneath the surface!