Illustration til "Steenmonumenter" 1843

Curator: This illustration, rendered through woodcut print, comes to us from H.C. Henneberg in 1843. It’s titled "Illustration til 'Steenmonumenter'." Editor: Monumental, indeed! But intimate, too. The cross-hatching makes the stones almost breathe, like sleeping giants under a grassy quilt. It has this wonderful sense of history embedded right into the present moment. Curator: That’s quite insightful. Henneberg, I suspect, wasn't just interested in a literal depiction. Considering it was created during the rise of Romanticism, the image emphasizes this deep fascination with the past. The textures, created by the woodcut process, contribute to a feeling of roughness. A primal connection to the earth is unearthed here. Editor: Precisely. This print *is* the thingness of these stones. I think about the labor of cutting those lines into wood, a subtractive process mirroring the millennia that weathered those stones. And consider the distribution - prints allowed far more people to "own" the image of these monuments than could visit them. That is the power of artmaking right there; to connect and redistribute. Curator: Absolutely! It shrinks distances, bringing a remote piece of Denmark's ancient past into people’s homes. Looking closer, the artist captures a real sense of light playing on the uneven surfaces, almost animating the stones. And these sharp lines…They really drive home this contrast between light and shadow. It evokes such a mystical feeling! Editor: I agree about that feeling! The line work emphasizes the very deliberate placing of these huge stones, so somebody clearly expended immense efforts to lift these and bring them into place. In our own way, we mirror the efforts by thinking, writing and speaking of their work centuries on...it connects everything together. Curator: This little illustration packs quite the punch! Thank you for teasing out so many thought-provoking dimensions. I see much more than I did just a moment ago. Editor: Likewise. These unassuming illustrations can offer us unique ways into considering materiality, labour, and the past itself.