Danish Golden Age

Hirschsprung Collection

Yesterday we visited a collection of paintings which all focused around Denmark and specifically we looked at the paintings that involved greenspace. The question of the day is...

 Describe the Danish Golden Age of painting and explain how the artists and their work helped shape the perception of the Danish landscape.

The Danish Golden Age of painting was a time period when many Danes embraced the surrounding landscape in Denmark and involved Danish nature in the majority of their works. It was based strongly in Romanticism and continued to grow even after many other countries had adopted other art styles. It was its strongest in the beginning of the nineteenth century, and involved a large focus on landscape painting. The artists of the time made the main focus the nature, and usually gave the human beings within it only a small amount of attention. This was a way of showing nature (and often times God) was more powerful and of greater importance than people. Many of the paintings we saw in this gallery were fantastic and gorgeous, with intense focus placed on giving the landscape all of the details in which it deserved. The artists wanted to demonstrate the rolling hills and flat beaches native to Denmark, and did an excellent job including cultural aspects, such as Viking Burial Mounds, in their pieces of artwork. One thing I appreciated a lot in the collection was how many sketches had been obtained. Now when I say sketches, these were not stick figure people, they were shrunk paintings almost as beautiful as the final model. This also allowed me to see what the artist had originally seen in the landscape if he had been on location without any added flair. My personal favorite part of the museum was where some actual sketches, purely pencil drawings that were unfinished, were shown. I enjoy sketching myself, and to see that similar techniques, like the grid system, were used everywhere in the world and way back in time. This also allowed me to see different styles of sketching, which has a much deeper connection to my personal work than finished paintings. Although the different styles of painting seen throughout the gallery showed a very impressive transition as people reinvented tools and progressed the style. Overall, this was a very useful and memorable visit.

Hirschsprung Collection

You know who's sketchbook this reminds me of? Quintons.