Billede 4 1838

Curator: We’re looking at Lorenz Frølich’s “Billede 4,” an engraving from 1838 held in the collection of the SMK, the National Gallery of Denmark. Editor: Well, first off, it feels very… intimate. Like a quick sketch captured in a fleeting moment. There’s this guy in striped trousers playing with his dog, right? The dog seems thrilled to bits! I can almost feel its energy radiating outward, eager for a playful chase! Curator: It's a great example of genre painting in the 19th century, a type of art that focuses on scenes of everyday life. Engravings like this democratized art, making it accessible to a wider audience. This piece might depict an upper-middle-class family enjoying leisure time outside the city, a common theme in art of that period, reflecting new social structures and urbanization. Editor: I love the way he captures movement with simple lines, especially the kid and his dog running in the background. It gives it this sense of bustling life even though it's quite minimalist, right? And there's something almost melancholic about the way the figures are rendered. Curator: Interesting, melancholy isn’t a word that comes immediately to my mind. I think Frølich is celebrating the idealized bourgeois family, although there’s a wistful tone, a kind of idyllic dream… But what I’m also seeing, perhaps you are also, is a reflection of societal values. Images like these reinforced gender roles, showing men as the providers and heads of families, although it might seem a subtle message! Editor: Right, and the landscapes too! Not just neutral backdrop—aren't landscapes usually more charged, showing this ideal retreat back to nature for those wealthy enough to afford that? The engraver captured such delicate, yet emotionally suggestive moments… I imagine viewing these, nestled at home by a warm fire… like pressing pause to truly savour and appreciate that specific era’s small, serene and domestic joys. Curator: That perfectly captures the spirit of “Billede 4”, It really lets us peer into how the rising bourgeoisie of the 19th century imagined itself!