Oehlenschlägers Fødested 1875 - 1879

Editor: We’re looking at "Oehlenschlägers Fødested," an etching from 1875-1879, located here at the SMK. The mood feels so intimate, almost like peering into a cherished memory. I love the everyday life feel of it; so quiet and still. What really strikes you about this piece? Curator: It whispers of home, doesn’t it? It reminds me of sepia-toned photographs found in a dusty attic, full of the comforting ordinariness of daily life. That building, weighted with years and stories! I think it's trying to freeze a particular memory in time. How interesting it is to choose to fix this memory for future viewers. Makes me wonder what other lives touched this place! Do you think the figures there have been frozen in time too? Editor: They do. Like they're trapped. That's haunting. This could be like the backdrop for a fable. So, do you think this stillness adds some importance or solemnity to the place in the image? Curator: Absolutely. By choosing such a restrained medium as etching, the artist invites us to contemplate the essence of home. It transcends mere architecture; it becomes a vessel for feelings and histories, wouldn’t you say? Makes you reflect on where *you* come from, I think. It’s funny, isn't it, how art can drag your soul down unexpected little avenues! Editor: That is beautifully put. I now view the print more about universal feelings than about its immediate depiction of "home". Curator: Yes! We’ve unearthed its intimate nature, perhaps more like a poem or a feeling than just an old homeplace.