August. Til C. Andersen og F. Hendriksen, "Maanederne" 1847 - 1878

Curator: This delicate engraving is part of a series called "The Months," created between 1847 and 1878 by Til C. Andersen and F. Hendriksen. This particular print, "August," lives at the SMK, the National Gallery of Denmark. What’s your first impression? Editor: Melancholy. The lone figure standing in the field, shadowed by an enormous violet… it’s quiet, introspective, almost as if the weight of history—represented by that dolmen in the background—is pressing down. Curator: Oh, that dolmen is key! These artists, working within the Romantic tradition, were obsessed with Denmark’s ancient past. It’s more than just scenery. Editor: Exactly! We can think of the image as situated within the surge of national romanticism that took hold in 19th-century Europe. Here, a peasant figure—likely positioned outside the emerging middle class—becomes allegorically connected to the land and history. Curator: And nature isn't just pretty; it’s profound! Notice how the crisp, almost scientific detail in the foreground flora contrasts with the looser rendering of the landscape. Hendriksen's training as a natural history illustrator shines through, don’t you think? Editor: Definitely. And that juxtaposition is fascinating. It invites a conversation, perhaps, about the ways that burgeoning scientific observation intersects with the idealization of nature typical of the era. How the particular, in this rendering, reflects the general. I mean, it looks as if there is someone missing; he seems lonely. Curator: Absolutely, and this longing gaze into history. Does it seek something, a lost connection? Or perhaps, a warning about what's lost or threatened by time and "progress." Editor: It’s this blend of personal observation with wider cultural anxieties and assertions that I find so compelling. "August" serves as more than a calendar illustration. It’s a lens through which we can better interrogate what Romanticism tried—and failed—to represent. Curator: So much emotion etched in the tiniest lines. Makes you wonder about the artists themselves, don't you think?