Udsigt mod Civitella 1829

Ditlev Blunck sketched "View towards Civitella" using pencil on paper. Blunck, living between 1798 and 1854, experienced a Europe undergoing significant political and social change. This landscape is deceptively simple. While seemingly a straightforward depiction of nature, it emerges from a period of intense national and artistic identity formation. Artists like Blunck were often tasked with creating images that fostered a sense of national pride and belonging. The focus on the Italian landscape reflects the broader cultural fascination with Italy as the cradle of Western civilization, and this was often intertwined with notions of cultural and racial superiority. The act of sketching "en plein air", or outdoors, also carries a certain gendered dimension. Landscape painting was often considered a masculine pursuit, associated with exploration, ownership, and a scientific appreciation of the natural world. This work invites us to reflect on the complex ways in which art and identity intersect.