Kilden 1845

Curator: Right, let's discuss "Kilden," an 1845 print by Adolph Kittendorff, currently residing here at the SMK, the Statens Museum for Kunst. Editor: There's an undeniable melancholic mood hanging in the air of that little scene, isn't there? Like a story paused midway. The stark ink lines against the pale paper sort of amplify that quiet desperation. Curator: The romantic style definitely lends itself to that interpretation. Water, the titular element in "Kilden," which translates to "The Source" in English, is rich in symbolism. Historically and psychologically, water symbolizes life, renewal, and the subconscious. Editor: "The Source" is far from a mighty river bursting with life, though. It's more of a trickle near an abandoned well, hinting at both resource and loss, expectation and disappointment, with the same image. A visual poem on unfulfilled potential. Ironic that we even use the term wellspring of creativity. This ain’t it, chief. Curator: Exactly! Kittendorff taps into a sense of longing inherent in Romanticism. That contrast between nature’s promise and human’s…almost dilapidated intervention in it, the worn well... it speaks to a cultural memory of reliance on and respect for nature's gifts, that's perhaps being lost. It's worth noting that prints, with their reproducibility, were a critical way of sharing such ideologies. Editor: I wonder about the choice of the single well though. It lacks human interaction. There isn't a person pulling the bucket or drawing up any water from the literal well, to take from the wellspring of potential. Just stark stillness with implied potential. You are left feeling bereft by a promise left unfulfilled. It is somber! Curator: Absolutely. It seems to provoke the question of whether the cultural promise inherent in it is also going dry, alongside the water. Editor: All in all, not exactly the most hopeful image, even with those lovely trees in the distance, promising vitality, perhaps? Curator: Well, hope is only truly understood by those that see the possibility of drought, no? Editor: I see your point. A touch dramatic, but I'll give you that!