Italiensk landskab med en vej 1883

Curator: This is Joakim Skovgaard’s "Italian Landscape with a Road," rendered in pencil in 1883. Editor: The air in it feels very… anticipatory. Quiet, but on the verge of something. Perhaps a journey, the start of a new chapter for someone… Curator: Absolutely! Skovgaard traveled through Italy and he made many drawings of the scenes he encountered. This artwork demonstrates his grasp of realistic light and shade, blended with a hint of Romantic sensibility, particularly in the composition and the overall feeling. Editor: Yes, Romanticism loved its journeys. But journeys weren't accessible to everyone, were they? Here, it’s mostly trees; it almost reads like the violence that environmental extraction does to marginalized bodies, hiding itself as bucolic, simple beauty... who owns that road? Whose labor built that road? Curator: I see what you mean. The landscape seems inviting and innocent at first glance. There is, of course, the inherent privilege of being able to have these journeys as opposed to building the roads to nowhere that keep people in place... The technique of quickly rendered impressions contributes to the overall mood as well. Skovgaard doesn't linger; he captures only what strikes him at first sight, making us question his purpose, too. Editor: Or even the colonial fantasy that Europe held on the non-West... The light is interesting; what seems like the shadow that should cover most of the track reveals it instead and then it gets darker further into the depth of the piece. What does that mean? Curator: It draws you into it. The artist's use of light creates a pathway to what might be an unsettling quiet in that "depth" that you refer to, not revealing anything at all. A darkness for one might become an invitation to another. I think what is particularly affecting about Skovgaard's landscape studies is how he renders them both objectively and emotionally; almost dreamlike. Editor: I do agree there's an undeniable invitation in that quiet and even some promise in those shadows, don't you think? It just makes you want to unravel the colonial and anthropocentric lens through which it was created. Thanks for this journey into landscape and beyond! Curator: My pleasure, an Italian escape through 1883 through today. I’ll take that any time!