Esplanaden ved Øster Port 1763 - 1809

Curator: Here we have “Esplanaden ved Øster Port,” or “The Esplanade by Øster Port” by Elias Meyer, a print made between 1763 and 1809, currently held at the SMK - Statens Museum for Kunst. Editor: It’s got this faded storybook charm. I picture people in powdered wigs strolling about. There's almost a ghostly quality to the whole scene—the past trying to whisper something. Curator: Note how Meyer employs line engraving to delineate form, reinforced by the hand-application of watercolours to tint each figure and building within this cityscape. The figures populate the space according to clear hierarchical positioning. Editor: Hierarchy? More like everyone’s having a picnic and feeding the ducks. See, it's inviting! Look at the balance; the soft colours against the crisp lines of the building, almost makes you think that being watched while living your normal daily life would be lovely! I just like that it shows that living around beautiful spaces makes life a beautiful life. Curator: Precisely. Consider how the buildings recede into the background, employing a linear perspective to define space—classical compositions following tenets inspired by Neoclassicism, albeit subtly in contrast with the lively interactions between people from diverse societal ranks on the shore. Meyer positions the buildings so their form reinforces notions of civic order. Editor: Okay, okay, civic order... But the trees are so unruly and free, while the buildings just stand rigid in the distance! You could almost get seasick if you stare at the lake too long. I also see these groups engaging in, dare I say, leisure? This is just a regular place where people are coexisting around nature, instead of battling it. Curator: Meyer creates a visual dialogue between nature and artifice through that contrast. In doing so, he invites us to analyse how one order affects the other and their codependence. Editor: I still think they're just enjoying a pleasant day and we’re reading into it a little too much. Curator: It wouldn't be the first time! I’ll admit I always enjoy looking closer. Editor: Same here! Even if that sometimes means looking at a perfectly nice walk in the park and deciding it’s an ideological battlefield!