Udkast til sidste illustration med englebørnene i båden 1885

Curator: We’re looking at "Udkast til sidste illustration med englebørnene i båden," which translates to “Sketch for the last illustration with the angel children in the boat,” a pen and ink drawing by Joakim Skovgaard, created around 1885. It resides here at the SMK. Editor: My first thought? There’s a dreamlike quality to this little sketch. It feels both ethereal and… almost comical. Two chubby cherubs awkwardly navigating a boat, with, what I can see, what appears to be fans as oars? Curator: Exactly! Skovgaard seemed to have poured his heart and humor into this whimsical landscape. The setting sun casting golden rays behind distant sailboats and a fairytale castle is what defines a lot of the composition. Editor: The whole thing feels a bit like peering into the artist's own heart, a landscape both innocent and a little absurd. Are those words at the bottom of the piece? Curator: They are! The lines beneath the drawing seem to hint at a patriotic journey. “Sailing we to our fatherland…” This work resonates so much with the narrative and symbolism prominent in Romanticism. This really feels like we have a foot in each the Symbolist and Romantic eras. It seems like a preparation for some bigger undertaking. Editor: Seeing it within that Romantic context suddenly makes it so much deeper, the children being symbolic perhaps, vessels navigating into the golden rays, the "fatherland" possibly representing artistic fulfillment for Skovgaard himself. Also, it shows how the role of artist could be envisioned, what art should provide to society. Curator: The sketchiness itself is key. It provides the raw thought and feeling, which is sometimes missed when works are finished to their ultimate form. Editor: It certainly offers us something more intimate, raw. To see the bones of his vision laid bare like this makes it easier to find those personal connections that I wouldn't be able to otherwise grasp. Curator: In essence, we have something tender that opens up the symbolic potential, even within an unfinished state. Editor: Exactly.