Rejsedagbog 1845

Curator: Welcome! Today, we're looking at a page from "Rejsedagbog," or Travel Journal, dating back to 1845 by Johan Thomas Lundbye. It resides here at the SMK, the National Gallery of Denmark. Editor: It's immediately striking; the close-up view reveals the texture of the paper and ink. It feels intimate, like uncovering a secret personal record. There’s an almost palpable sense of history embedded in each stroke. Curator: Precisely. Lundbye, known for his romantic landscapes, employed this travel journal to record impressions and reflections during his travels, not just of places, but of artworks, as evidenced by the descriptions penned here. We can trace his encounters with and thoughts on other artists through these pages. Editor: So, it's as much an art historical document as it is a personal diary. Do you know what kind of ink he used? The variation in darkness and line weight seems significant to me. I'm seeing a relationship between how heavy or dark the writing appears and the weight of his feelings, or importance of that notation in his travel for that day, something like that. Curator: That's a fascinating point! While the specific type of ink isn’t documented, the shifts in pressure and flow likely underscore his immediate emotional and intellectual responses. He jotted down analyses of paintings encountered during his journey, revealing not just the surfaces but their possible meaning-making as he read the works through his own cultural lens. Editor: I’m very moved by its compactness and brevity, really. One page can carry the weight of such observations, of the artistic discourse of its time. Curator: Absolutely. This little travel journal encapsulates the romantic spirit: that intersection of subjective experience and the grand sweep of history and art. It’s a tangible fragment of a brilliant artist’s inner and outer worlds. Editor: It’s a fantastic glimpse into the artistic and intellectual ecosystem of 19th-century Europe, rendered with the immediacy only a personal notebook could provide. Thank you for this insight!