Cloud Study 1850

Knud Baade painted this cloud study with oil on canvas, and it now resides here in the National Gallery in Oslo. Looking at the image it's tempting to see it as a purely aesthetic exercise, but it's important to remember the scientific context of landscape painting in the 19th century. Baade was Norwegian, and the cultural identity of Norway was being asserted at this time. Romantic nationalism fostered an appreciation for the distinctive Nordic landscape and a renewed interest in meteorology. Artists like Baade contributed to a larger cultural project, representing the natural world in a way that promoted a sense of national pride and identity. To understand this work more deeply, we might consider the relationship between art and science in 19th-century Norway, consulting historical weather records, travel journals, and the writings of art critics. Art is always contingent on social context.