Hammershus på Bornholm. Set fra nordsiden 1819

Søren L. Lange created this landscape view of Hammershus on Bornholm using pen and watercolour. In the late 18th century, the picturesque was in vogue. Lange, living through Denmark's enlightenment era, would have been influenced by broader European trends in art and philosophy that valued nature and reason. Look at the composition, see how the crumbling castle perches dramatically atop the craggy cliffs? A man sits amongst the rocks with a rifle, he is accompanied by livestock; a worker drives cattle with a wagon on the open path. The picturesque aesthetic held a mirror to society, contrasting the natural, rustic life with the ruins of power. Lange’s delicate rendering invites us to contemplate the narratives embedded in this landscape; it offers a mediation on progress, power, and place. Here, the past is literally placed in the background, while rural life takes centre stage. What does it mean when an artist turns their back on the powerful?