Sejlbåd med muntert selskab 1896 - 1897

Curator: Agnes Slott-Møller’s “Sejlbåd med muntert selskab,” or "Sailboat with Cheerful Company," drawn around 1896, captures a scene of carefree joy. What do you make of it? Editor: Immediately, I’m struck by how fleeting it feels. The lightness of the pencil strokes, the way the figures seem almost dissolved into the atmosphere—it's a whisper of a moment. Curator: Absolutely. Møller had such a knack for rendering these ephemeral feelings through these wispy strokes. This sketch, held by the SMK - Statens Museum for Kunst, hints at her larger preoccupations with Danish identity and symbolism, but in a wonderfully intimate way. It's so delicate. Editor: I wonder about this “cheerful company.” Are they truly carefree, or is there perhaps a forced gaiety amidst underlying societal tensions? Denmark in the late 19th century was wrestling with significant class divisions and changing social roles. Curator: That’s a wonderfully astute observation. Perhaps the cheer is a form of resistance, an embrace of simple pleasures in the face of larger anxieties? I imagine them singing rowdy songs. Or maybe a little too loud conversations. You know. Trying to keep things up. Editor: Exactly! And notice the landscape itself. The indistinct shoreline, the vast expanse of sky and sea – it creates a sense of boundlessness, but also of potential instability. It reflects Denmark’s maritime identity, but maybe with a questioning undertone. How might national identity change once you were away from shore? Curator: It certainly suggests that being Danish might mean different things depending on the winds of fate, so to speak. I like that! And perhaps they hoped that good company on the boat was all they would need. Maybe? Editor: A hope we all share. A little precarious. Curator: Precarious, but undeniably full of life. This little pencil sketch continues to resonate so much even to this day. Editor: Yes, it's a lovely piece that invites us to consider the nuances of joy and the complexities of a historical moment through a beautifully intimate lens. It encourages questions more than answers, in other words.