Bakken i Dyrehaven 1831

Curator: Looking at this, I can almost smell the fresh forest air! This is "Bakken i Dyrehaven," a lithograph from 1831 by N.B. Krossing. The paper and ink really capture a lighthearted genre scene. Editor: There's definitely something charmingly chaotic about it. My first impression is one of rustic festivity, a jovial abandon caught in monochromatic tones. The disarray in the foreground clashes intriguingly with the softer, almost dreamy background. Curator: Exactly! It is Krossing showing us a peek into Bakken, an amusement park still going strong near Copenhagen. It has got all of the recognizable symbolism associated with folk celebrations; intoxication, awkward embraces...It tells us of a specific era, a type of amusement. What cultural memory do you suppose these kind of images evokes for people who encounter them today? Editor: These scenes conjure up ideas about continuity, you know? Like how human need for leisure and merriment cuts across centuries. Those ubiquitous fairground settings are an intriguing link, offering respite from our rigid lives. Though there is also, something else there; what do the tops hats mean, versus the tea-tray? I see them standing-in for hierarchies of wealth and power. What does it say about who gets to be free in what contexts? Curator: Interesting! You are right about hierarchies for sure. Even down to the level of clothing, it tells us a lot about their identity, who they wanted to be. And I love the subtle contrasts Krossing establishes. Observe how people drink right on the forest floor whilst, elsewhere, they have tables set up at an elevated level. Editor: So the foreground acts as a sort of staged performance of Dionysian revelry. The carefully arranged chaos allows for something truly, culturally, psychologically evocative, but also something very consciously staged and class-aware. This work then shows us an evolution that’s not entirely lost from our time. Curator: I totally agree. Seeing those gestures and symbols play out... It makes you wonder, how much of that social performance we’re still putting on every time we step into an amusement park, centuries later. Editor: It’s like this print holds a mirror up to our collective desire for communal experience—then and now—whilst never hiding the inequalities in our past. A potent combination indeed.