Kronhjorte og to hinde 1855 - 1858

P.C. Skovgaard made this pencil drawing of a red deer stag and two hinds, but we don’t know exactly when. It’s now part of the collection of the National Gallery of Denmark, or SMK. Skovgaard was a key figure in the Danish Golden Age, a period of intense national self-definition in the first half of the 19th century. After centuries of being ruled from abroad, Denmark was trying to find its own identity and assert its independence through art. Looking at the image, we can see an attempt to define a national character through the natural world. The image seems to be conservative, with a hint of national romanticism. It expresses the idea of the importance of nature to the Danish national identity. To understand Skovgaard’s work better, we can look at how the SMK was established as a national institution, the rise of national romanticism, and the Danish landscape painting tradition. Art isn't made in a vacuum. It's always part of a wider social and cultural context.