Bjernede kirke 1852

Editor: Here we have Jacob Kornerup's "Bjernede Kirke," created in 1852. It’s an engraving, and what strikes me is the simple, almost austere depiction of this church. What's your perspective on it? Curator: It’s a powerful image, especially when we consider the context. Kornerup created this in a Denmark grappling with national identity. These churches, relics of the medieval past, became potent symbols. How does viewing this as a "print," affect your reading of the piece? Editor: Well, knowing it's a print makes me think about the possibility of mass distribution, maybe? Were these images meant to circulate widely? Curator: Exactly! This wasn't just about aesthetic appreciation, but about fostering a sense of shared history and cultural belonging among the Danish people. How might the "old engraving style" be interpreted? Is there a message it conveys, for example, consciously alluding to its medieval essence? Editor: It almost feels like a deliberate attempt to connect the present with the past, a visual claim to a continuous heritage. It feels significant today, since our heritage is constantly questioned. Curator: Precisely! And what does it mean to highlight and disseminate this type of religious architecture and, thus, its importance, when looking at social class, gender, and the role of religion? This image functions almost like propaganda. Editor: I hadn’t considered it that way, as a tool for nation-building through the romanticisation of the past, with inherent exclusions and assumptions of shared values! I am definitely walking away from this with my own ideas thoroughly shaken. Curator: Indeed, seeing art as intertwined with politics, identity, and social structures provides us with much richer understandings. And what do you learn about Kornerup as a political agent or instigator?