Store træer 1865

Editor: This drawing, titled "Store Træer" – which I believe translates to 'Large Trees' – was created by P.C. Skovgaard in 1865. It’s a pencil drawing, currently held at the SMK. I find it intriguing because, despite the lack of color, it still manages to evoke a strong sense of place. It feels almost like a memory fading at the edges. What strikes you most when you look at it? Curator: Oh, fading memories are perfect. I see something intensely private in these barely-there marks, a fleeting glimpse. Think of it: Skovgaard, out in the landscape, wrestling with how to capture something so alive as a tree with just a pencil! It’s almost humorous, that struggle. Do you sense that tension between control and wildness? Editor: I think so. The top right especially seems more... chaotic maybe? Less controlled than the sort of clear horizon line below. Curator: Exactly! That's the conversation right there. The drawing feels so immediate. Not a grand statement, more like a whispered thought about the soul of the trees. A quick, furtive note about the light on leaves and the solidity of trunks before the moment disappears entirely. It reminds me of trying to catch a dream as you wake. Editor: It makes me want to try drawing outside more. You're right. It's so immediate and tactile. Not polished, just there. Curator: Yes, the intimacy, and a lovely reminder that sometimes, the unfinished… the half-said... speaks volumes. The imperfection becomes its strength. I get quite emotional thinking about the nature and what's represented in art history, how much more powerful that representation could be if they’d been even just a little rougher. Editor: It really changes the way I look at "finished" pieces now. Maybe the true beauty is in the process.