Prøvetryk til Chr. Winthers A.B.C. 1863

Curator: Looking at H.P. Hansen’s print from 1863, titled "Prøvetryk til Chr. Winthers A.B.C.," one finds an engraving rendered on paper, currently held at the SMK - Statens Museum for Kunst. Editor: My first impression? It feels like a stage set—melancholy meets quaint, almost cartoonish charm, and the tiny scratches bring forth an old world that's ever-so-slightly absurd! Curator: Absurd is interesting. If we consider this piece through the lens of 19th-century Danish nationalism, folk art production aimed at didactic lessons becomes complicated. A figure, perhaps a wandering scholar or even a religious mendicant, appears beside a donkey laden for travel, situated against simple buildings—perhaps symbolic representations tied to educating the populace about foundational myths or virtues tied to rural existence. What readings come forward, in terms of work or leisure? Editor: Maybe, yes! He does look weary to be honest! And you put him within a political environment which of course does create even more to think about in an image that is so subtle... it appears innocent on the face of it and that juxtaposition is fantastic. What about technique? Hansen captures these intricate details using a technique which gives a sort of roughness - not hyper-real if you know what I mean, but raw instead... Curator: Certainly, that rawness disrupts any romanticized depiction. Hansen uses etching to depict what appears a stark social narrative, grounding the print’s purpose as didactic. The setting is very simply described yet its texture, alongside our figure's ambiguous narrative and placement beside an ass laden for transport, suggests many readings which can become layered interpretations for social meaning. It does ask 'For whom are the lessons, the morals?' Who might read into such visual texts. Editor: Absolutely! It also poses bigger questions. How the artist felt towards his own labor! It really sparks an avalanche of reflection. To sum up I might argue, the piece feels both folksy and sophisticated simultaneously – this print leaves a delightfully bitter aftertaste that encourages to dig into art as visual culture a bit further. Curator: I concur. Hansen’s "Prøvetryk til Chr. Winthers A.B.C." invites us to unpack not just visual stories, but socio-political threads intertwined within 19th-century print culture.