Illustration til "Halvhundrede Fabler for Børn" af Hey 1834

Curator: Here we have an engraving by Martinus Rørbye, dating to 1834. It is an illustration for "Halvhundrede Fabler for Børn" or "Fifty Fables for Children" by Hey. Editor: Well, isn't this charmingly peculiar! A snowman with a rather severe expression confronts three boys who appear equally bewildered. The light is wonderfully soft, giving the whole scene an ethereal glow. Curator: Yes, Rørbye was a key figure in the Danish Golden Age and this is very representative of Romanticism, a blend of genre painting and narrative. It’s interesting how he uses such a precise, almost scientific engraving technique for a children's illustration. He likely sought to depict something from everyday life with the available materials in his reach. Editor: Precisely. You feel the weight of those tiny lines making up the form. The snowman, the makeshift materials, even the children's slightly stilted postures—they all contribute to this strangely haunting quality. Curator: The medium itself tells a story, right? An engraving would allow mass production and broader dissemination of these fables to reach the burgeoning middle class in 19th-century Denmark. It democratized access to both art and literature, serving an educational function beyond mere aesthetic pleasure. Editor: True. It almost feels as if we're catching a moment suspended in time, as if that very scene will soon disappear, ephemeral just as snow. You think they know that their creation won't survive, that even stories can be altered by their telling? Curator: Perhaps Rørbye is hinting at the transience of childhood itself. It’s intriguing to consider the labor involved: the physical act of carving, inverting the narrative from ephemeral to materially recorded through this medium, preserved by institutions like the SMK. Editor: Yes! You almost hear the faint scratch of the engraving tool meeting the metal. What lingers is a beautiful paradox – capturing ephemerality with incredible enduring artistic method. I keep wondering if these lads know their fleeting joy has been immortalized? Curator: Quite so. It gives new context to their frozen tableau of bewilderment doesn't it?