Skitse og rejsedagbog. Schweiz, Frankrig og Italien 1845-46 1845 - 1846

Curator: My initial reaction? It resembles an old geological sample, maybe some amber with ancient organisms trapped inside. Editor: Indeed. What we're observing is Johan Thomas Lundbye's "Sketch and Travel Diary. Switzerland, France, and Italy 1845-46", an intimate peek into the artist's wanderings rendered in drawing on paper, during the Romantic era. It’s held at the SMK in Copenhagen. Curator: Romantic! Right, because on closer inspection, this isn’t trapped amber; it’s an artifact designed to invite exploration of a creative mind. And it’s aged gorgeously, by the look of it. Almost begging for tales of yore. Editor: Precisely. Lundbye was navigating through a Europe on the brink of societal change and industrial shifts, and travel was both a privilege and an avenue to expand one's understanding of a rapidly transforming world. This sketchbook stands as both testament and archive to Lundbye's intellectual formation in a critical historical juncture. Curator: What a burden, traveling and having to observe…and then distill it into art! But this marbled cover feels like an extension of nature somehow. Every circle holds the potential for a world within a world. Editor: That textured binding could even evoke something bigger--social stratification, for example. Note that Lundbye was traveling with a certain amount of capital and resources that granted him particular privileges to traverse borders. This sketchbook reminds us to interrogate those circumstances and power dynamics as well. Curator: I imagine Lundbye painstakingly documenting everything… or was he swept away like an excited child at a carnival? Or both. The drawings likely whisper anecdotes—of fleeting landscapes, stolen glances, momentary friendships... perhaps of loves found or lost. Editor: They may also betray, as journals often do, certain unconscious biases related to gender, class, or nationality, revealing aspects of the artist’s persona embedded in specific historical milieus and codes of conduct. This complicates how we access or valorize personal narratives. Curator: It’s always a thrill to unearth such treasure. You know, I almost envy Lundbye for his journeys… But on second thought, I’m glad this relic exists today for us. A gateway to other worlds... or simply to daydream! Editor: Agreed. Its very existence challenges our notions of legacy, travel, and, more broadly, access and representation as they play out within artistic practices of this era and even today.