Mr. Knowlton til hest 1845

This sketch, by Johan Thomas Lundbye, was made in Denmark, in the first half of the 19th century. At that time, Danish artists, influenced by the German Romantic movement, developed a nationalist art focused on landscape. But how do we know that this seemingly simple sketch is a product of its time? Well, we can look to the inscription at the top of the page, written in Danish, and describing a view towards Martigny, Switzerland. The Danish Golden Age was a time of cultural nationalism, when Danish artists travelled around Europe looking for inspiration but also keen to see how their homeland related to the rest of the continent. Lundbye’s sketch, in other words, is a product of his moment in history. By studying his drawings alongside his diaries and letters, we can trace the social and intellectual networks that helped to shape Danish art and national identity.