Komponeret landskab. En sø, en kæmpehøj, i baggrunden bakker med træer 1840

Dankvart Dreyer made this pencil drawing of a constructed landscape, featuring a lake and a barrow, sometime in the first half of the 19th century. The barrow, or burial mound, suggests an interest in Denmark’s ancient history and identity. Landscape painting in the 19th century can be viewed as a conservative genre, often commissioned by the landed gentry to celebrate their estates, or by institutions keen to promote a sense of national identity rooted in the land. However, by focusing on understated and underpopulated scenes, artists like Dreyer were subtly subverting such grand narratives, and suggesting a different, more personal relationship to the land. The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts played a central role in shaping artistic taste at this time. By studying the archives of the Academy, and the personal papers of artists and their patrons, we can better understand the social conditions that shaped the production and reception of art in 19th-century Denmark.