Jydsk Landskab 1844

Editor: This is Christen Dalsgaard’s “Jydsk Landskab,” painted in 1844. It’s on paper, rendered in monochrome, and what strikes me is how the muted tones evoke a sense of quiet contemplation. How do you see this landscape speaking to its audience? Curator: It whispers, doesn’t it? Think of the Romantics, yearning for untouched nature – a nature they felt was disappearing. Dalsgaard, though, doesn’t offer a grand, sublime vista. Instead, this is everyday Jutland, Denmark, a familiar place rendered with…almost a hushed reverence. It’s not just documenting, but feeling the soul of the land. Does that make sense, or am I lost in the heather again? Editor: No, that makes perfect sense. It’s like he’s inviting us to find the extraordinary in the ordinary. Was this a typical subject for him? Curator: Yes and no. He was interested in the everyday life, yes, but he brought to it, a meditative quality…a quiet wonder. This almost photographic quality, without actually being a photograph… It is almost… a memory of a place, a feeling held. He coaxes you to seek for yourself what resonates, and where it resonates, no? Editor: It's a surprisingly modern approach, in a way. The lack of colour really directs you towards composition and form. Curator: Exactly. That stripped back approach gives you more. Think about it, Dalsgaard leaves a huge emotional space for us. What kind of journey do you take in your own landscape, seeing this now? Editor: I hadn’t considered it that way before. Now, I’m finding I am projecting into it, thinking of landscapes that mean something to me. Thanks! Curator: That’s it, you see! It changes with us, and hopefully we see change with it! My pleasure.