Nature Untamed 1784

Curator: "Nature Untamed" created in 1784 by Nicolai Abildgaard now residing here at the SMK, Denmark. An oil-paint exploration into the depths of Neoclassicism and Romanticism through figurations. Editor: My first thought? Sleepy Hollow meets primordial vulnerability. There's a stillness, almost like the whole scene is holding its breath. What strikes you initially? Curator: It’s a fascinating dance between classical idealism and a more turbulent emotional landscape, particularly given the socio-political context of late 18th-century Europe, and Abildgaard's radical politics at the time. This period was ripe with revolutionary sentiment, and artworks often subtly conveyed messages about individual liberty. Editor: Precisely, the tension between her relaxed posture and the unyielding surroundings suggests more than simple repose. I feel as if I were witnessing an untouched part of her soul. It looks to me as though she doesn’t care that someone sees her in her element, but also at her weakest, as she could clearly fall off any moment now. Curator: Exactly. Look at the almost exaggerated musculature for the male nudes of antiquity: power, heroism, civic virtue. Here, the nude, the exposed body in the wild space seems to symbolize natural existence outside societal norms. Her form almost mimics the rocky terrain around her, suggesting a complete merging with the environment, challenging conventional aristocratic norms with an untamed form and gaze. Editor: The more I look, the more the earthy palette works on me too, right? Everything kind of flows from the bark on the tree into her skin to the bears on the ground below. There is also almost like another person at the side. Everything feels intimately linked. It's quite immersive. It brings up some uncanny feelings if you know what I mean. Curator: Yes! And let’s not overlook Abildgaard's innovative use of light here. By positioning the nude so centrally and highlighting the subtle contrast, his composition challenges academic conventions and engages in discourses on power, gender and social roles. He also presents an idea of an untouched, primal Europe far from societal and aristocratic expectations, even painting bears next to her instead of goats and sheep like in the classics. Editor: Absolutely, Abildgaard challenges and subverts norms using all that history as a mirror to his present. Looking closer into the gaze and brushwork only deepens the emotional intensity. Thanks for bringing it to light! Curator: Thanks, and for highlighting those emotional layers that I missed while exploring through its place in social history. A truly enlightening piece, as both the subject and history challenge the role that gender plays throughout art and European aristocratic life.