Rejsedagbog 1846

Curator: This is "Rejsedagbog," or "Travel Journal," created by Johan Thomas Lundbye in 1846. It’s held in the collection of the SMK, the Statens Museum for Kunst. The materials include drawing on paper and textile elements within the binding. Editor: Immediately, I'm struck by its intimacy, like stumbling upon a private thought, the artist's own hurried script capturing fleeting impressions. It feels like a whispered secret. Curator: Lundbye was a leading figure of Danish Romanticism, and this journal offers insight into his travels and personal reflections. Note the careful detail amidst what appears spontaneous—capturing the atmosphere. Editor: Romanticism always makes me consider the physical process. The hand is so evident— the way the ink bleeds slightly into the paper's fibres, the worn edges of the textile binding, holding these pages together...there's something almost sacred about the labour itself. Were these everyday or rare materials in the 1840's? Curator: It's remarkable how even something as ostensibly simple as a travel journal, primarily made of paper and ink, becomes a work of art when filtered through Lundbye’s sensibility. These aren't just records; they are studies in feeling and memory. The artist seems eager to infuse his immediate sensations onto paper. Editor: Exactly. The immediacy comes through. You can feel him wanting to record the nuances of light. A real contrast against something more staged and sculptural from the same era. Here, materiality serves expression—very directly. The handmade element offers direct context around skill, as a basic requirement, versus elevated craft. Curator: It also makes you reflect on our own travels and experiences. Do we still create such tangible keepsakes? The digital age has certainly altered the way we document and remember. Editor: Absolutely, and I wonder about the long-term impacts of digital versus analog modes of memorialising, and of course about access to production, making and knowledge sharing. Food for thought for travellers today!