Hornbæk kirke, sommeraften 1887

Carl Locher created this print of Hornbæk Church in Denmark using etching, a printmaking technique, sometime in the late 19th or early 20th century. Locher was part of the Skagen group of artists, who were interested in the effects of light and atmosphere on the landscape. This print exemplifies those interests, and is also a depiction of a deeply religious rural community. The village of Hornbæk was a fishing village in the late 1800s, and it would also become a popular destination for artists and tourists. What did it mean to create this kind of imagery? The late 19th century saw the rise of both photography and modern art movements, and prints like these were part of the cultural shift towards modernism. They were part of a changing art market. They reflect back to us a particular moment in the social history of Denmark. To understand this print better, one could look at the history of Skagen artists, the history of Hornbæk village, and the history of printmaking in Denmark. The meaning of art is contingent on social and institutional context.