En død musvåge med udspilede vinger 1845

Curator: Welcome to the SMK, the National Gallery of Denmark. Today, we'll be discussing P.C. Skovgaard's watercolour from 1845, titled "En død musvåge med udspilede vinger"—"A Dead Buzzard with Outspread Wings". Editor: It's strikingly morbid, isn’t it? The texture rendered in watercolor creates an unsettling sense of reality. You can almost feel the weight of the dead bird, wings outstretched, filling the frame. Curator: Indeed. Skovgaard's realistic style positions the buzzard almost as a specimen for study, reflective of a 19th-century fascination with natural sciences, yet simultaneously embodying vulnerability. It’s a symbol laden with meaning. Are we looking at the violent outcomes from emerging forms of labour and industry? Editor: Possibly, but consider how Skovgaard chose watercolor: a medium often relegated to sketches, yet here it precisely and realistically renders the detailed gradations of color and texture. The very materiality, the blending of pigment and water onto paper, serves to confront us with mortality. Where did Skovgaard source his paper and pigments? How did that inform his work? These questions need answering if we are to come to terms with this beautiful death. Curator: Your insights are sharp, and, in this case, underscore a perspective of violence against marginalized bodies and natures through colonial and extractivist dynamics. Editor: Well, isn’t all death a sort of extractive act? It's nature being extracted from the form that is losing it. But circling back, it’s a fascinating commentary on naturalism, on the value – and, dare I say, beauty – of craft in documenting the less palatable aspects of nature. I have a newfound respect for watercolors, a medium that may hold even further dimensions. Curator: Skovgaard masterfully uses this perceived limitation of watercolor to make a profound statement. Thinking more critically now, perhaps we might see this as an instance that calls to a sort of restorative ecology. The earth demands attention. It needs champions. Editor: A powerful thought. Skovgaard certainly achieved something thought-provoking. Thanks to you, I think I appreciate both his intentions and outcomes here so much more.