Aftenlandskab ved en smedie 1890s

Curator: There's a real sense of quiet about this piece. It reminds me of a stage set, somehow, stark against all that white paper. Editor: This is August Jerndorff's "Aftenlandskab ved en smedie" from the 1890s. It's an etching on paper, held here at the SMK, Statens Museum for Kunst. The title translates to "Evening Landscape by a Smithy." Curator: Smithy… It’s curious how that almost medieval image of a forge lingers, even as the Impressionistic style gives it a decidedly modern twist. What kind of memory are we engaging here? Is it a cultural nostalgia? Editor: I think that’s perceptive. Etchings were becoming increasingly popular as they allowed artists to produce images quickly and relatively inexpensively, disseminating them widely, shaping perceptions of what constitutes 'Danishness' and idyll in this period. Consider that most people in Copenhagen at that time might never have been to such a place but they likely imagined they knew what one looked like. Curator: The light in this scene feels more psychological than real. It casts an eerie glow, making me question if the cottage is actually welcoming or perhaps harboring secrets, an inviting stage, yet shadowed. What's at play with light in relation to social representation here? Editor: Light certainly takes center stage. Its rendering through etching techniques brings about a blurring effect which emphasizes an idealized impression over sharply defined realities, aligning the imagery of a simpler rural past with a more complex industrializing present. Curator: It speaks to the potency of negative space, the quiet corners of our shared past we perhaps invent and then reinhabit time and again. Editor: Precisely. Jerndorff’s strategic deployment of it allows for these images to act almost as mirrors. We glimpse not only landscape and the structure it holds but the projected societal anxieties and aspirations of their audiences as well. Curator: This small etching expands a wide panorama for thoughtful contemplation! Editor: Indeed, a beautiful example of how printmaking captured, reflected, and reshaped Danish identity during rapid social change.