Ornamentslyng samt vers. Side 22 1840 - 1844

Curator: Here we have "Ornamentslyng samt vers. Side 22" by Johan Thomas Lundbye, dating from 1840 to 1844. It's a drawing on paper held at the SMK in Copenhagen. What strikes you most about this piece? Editor: Well, it’s mostly text, and in a script I can't read, so my initial impression is of detailed craftwork rather than fine art. The care taken with the script makes it quite beautiful, despite being illegible to me. What's your take? Curator: For me, the interesting aspect is the materiality of this object. We need to consider what kind of paper this is, the ink used, the penmanship, and the binding of the book itself. Was this a commercially produced paper, or handmade? How does its creation fit into broader patterns of artisanal production during that time? Editor: That’s fascinating! I hadn't really thought about the paper itself as having significance. Curator: And the very act of handwriting also carries weight. Lundbye invested time and skill into meticulously inscribing this page. Who was his intended audience, and how would the meaning change if this was printed text instead of hand-written script? Would that alter its purpose or significance? Editor: So, it is not necessarily what he writes but how he crafted it? More labor-intensive, more personal? Curator: Precisely! Romanticism often celebrated the handmade, valuing unique skill over mass production. Think about how this ties to contemporary ideas of authorship, originality, and the social status of the artist as craftsman. Considering the paper and ink as vital as the artist's 'intention' reframes how we interpret the work. Editor: I never considered examining artwork this way before, but the tools, materials and craft clearly offer insights overlooked by pure aesthetics. Thanks. Curator: Indeed, questioning the production means brings to the surface relevant ideas about labor, class, and consumerism.