Zicht op de Rjukanfossen 1851

This print, whose artist is Louis-Julien Jacottet, shows the Rjukanfossen waterfall. It is held at the Rijksmuseum. This print draws upon a set of visual conventions which emerged in the late 18th century, and were still current when this print was produced. The sublime power of nature is a central idea here. This imagery took on particular political force. It offered a sense of national identity through its focus on landscape and its natural resources. It invited a sense of ownership over the land by its viewers. We might ask, for instance, whether the rise of Norwegian nationalism shaped the production and reception of such artworks. How might this landscape imagery have functioned within a wider political system? These are questions that a historian can help to answer, using a range of primary sources. Such sources would give an insight into the artistic culture of the time.