Skudt vildt 1846

Curator: J.L. Jensen’s “Skudt vildt,” dating to 1846, translates to “Shot Game.” The medium is oil paint and resides here at the SMK, Statens Museum for Kunst. Editor: It strikes me immediately as quite... still. The composition, a tableau of dead animals, is heavy, grounded. What narratives do you find woven into this image? Curator: The animals are potent symbols. The fox, for example, has a complicated history. Sometimes a symbol of cunning, sometimes an embodiment of primal wildness. What is really compelling is the layering of symbolism. A rifle casually rests amongst the kill, an early signifier of our modern relationships to the natural world. Editor: And what of the materials? I find myself wondering about Jensen's choice of oil. It’s interesting how oil paint can simulate such lifelike texture – fur, feathers… while, of course, depicting death. It really is playing on those tensions. Curator: Precisely! There’s a tradition of vanitas here. These images remind us of mortality. A way of life predicated on our separation from the natural world, and indeed our mastery of it, can't save us. Editor: Yes, this isn’t a simple trophy display. By highlighting these animals, these victims of sport hunting, Jensen’s canvas invites reflection on our consumption, on what we take and what we leave. The labor of the hunt is completely obscured, focusing solely on a commodity and display. Curator: Right, it's a far cry from a modern understanding of preservation and respect. It is a brutal snapshot into another time. The painting acts almost as a memento mori, a symbolic contemplation on the certainty of death and the vanity of earthly achievements, reflected through the bodies of hunted animals. Editor: Ultimately, "Skudt vildt" is about process – in this case, the hunting process. It's easy to see these paintings in isolation but how many people benefited from this? This isn't about artistic genius. This is about exploitation and consumerism and how it intersects with material art production. It’s thought-provoking, definitely a stark statement that goes beyond hunting culture itself. Curator: It forces you to look—at death, at symbolism, at history. The potent emotional impact lingers.