Træer og buske 1869

P.C. Skovgaard rendered this sketch of trees and bushes in pencil on paper, and it's now held at the SMK, the National Gallery of Denmark. Skovgaard lived and worked during the Danish Golden Age, a period of intense national romanticism. Landscape painting took on a heightened importance, becoming a vehicle for expressing a shared sense of national identity closely tied to the land itself. Artists looked to the Danish countryside for motifs that could stand for a unique, national character. The institutions of art, such as the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, played a crucial role in promoting a specific vision of Danish landscape painting. Artists who achieved success within the academy system helped to solidify this national style. To understand Skovgaard's work fully, it's essential to consider these artistic institutions and the cultural values they promoted during this transformative period of Danish history.