Fra slotsparken 1895

Editor: This is "Fra slotsparken," from 1895, an etching by Axel Holm, held at the Statens Museum for Kunst. It looks like a very peaceful park scene… Almost idyllic, though in a tightly framed way. How do you interpret this work? Curator: Well, looking at the piece through a critical lens, I find it fascinating how Holm chooses to portray this landscape. At first glance, it’s a serene park, yes. But what’s missing? Where are the people? How does this absence speak to the societal hierarchies of the time, the exclusive nature of such "public" spaces? Who *gets* to enjoy this supposed idyll? Editor: That's interesting. I was mainly thinking about the technical side, like how he used etching to create such fine details. Curator: And that’s valid, but consider this: the *choice* of meticulous detail could itself be a statement. Was it a way of emphasizing ownership and control of the space by depicting it so precisely, rendering every leaf and blade of grass in its "proper" place? Whose perspective does this serve? Editor: I hadn't considered it like that before, the "silence" as a deliberate statement about exclusion. Curator: Precisely. Think about the broader social landscape of 1895. What were the prevailing power structures? Whose stories were being told and whose were being silenced? And how does Holm’s landscape reflect, or perhaps even critique, those realities? Editor: It really makes you see the scene in a totally different way, and ask a lot of new questions. Thanks for opening up this perspective. Curator: My pleasure! Art invites questioning, dialogue and action.