Landskab med piletræer og pløjemark i sne 1903

Fritz Syberg captured “Landscape with Willow Trees and Plowing Field in Snow” in 1903 using watercolor. Syberg was part of the Funen Painters, an artist colony who moved away from the city to paint rural life. The painting depicts a snow-covered landscape, punctuated by the stark silhouettes of willow trees. It offers a glimpse into the lives of rural communities in Denmark at the turn of the century. These artists sought to represent the dignity of the working class, often romanticizing their connection to the land. The Funen Painters are known for works that invoke a sense of national identity rooted in the soil, and often depict themes of home and belonging. While celebrating rural life, it’s important to acknowledge the complicated class dynamics embedded in such imagery. Who is allowed to belong and whose labor sustains the landscape? It is in these paintings that we are confronted with questions about identity, labor, and our relationship to the land.