Studier af træer, blade o.a. 1840s

Dankvart Dreyer made this study of trees and leaves with pencil on paper. While undated, this work gives us insight into the artistic training of landscape painters in mid-19th century Denmark. At the time, the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts played a central role in shaping artistic styles. Artists were encouraged to study nature closely, making detailed sketches of plants, trees, and geological formations, as ways of understanding their underlying structure. Such studies were not intended as finished artworks in themselves, but rather as exercises in observation and documentation, in service of a larger aesthetic project. Dreyer’s sketch reflects this approach, with its careful attention to the textures and forms of nature. For art historians, these drawings are invaluable. They allow us to understand the artist's working methods and the role of academic institutions in shaping artistic production. By looking at these drawings alongside the landscapes they informed, we gain insight into the cultural values that informed the Danish Golden Age.