Skovparti. 1924

Curator: We're looking at Jean-Louis Boussingault’s "Skovparti," a watercolor drawing from 1924, held here at the SMK, the Statens Museum for Kunst. Editor: Wow, it’s misty! Like someone took a photo and then gently smudged all the colors away. Feels ephemeral. Curator: It does, doesn’t it? Boussingault was clearly working en plein-air. You can sense the artist capturing a fleeting moment in the forest. It’s remarkable how much atmosphere he conveys using just watercolor washes. Editor: It's very loose, not trying too hard. And yet there’s real structure, see the big tree centered like a dark sentinel, how its branches both anchor the view and pull you into the misty depths? It's sort of dreamy, in a good way, if that makes sense. Curator: Absolutely. Landscape painting had a long and evolving history in Denmark, tied to notions of national identity and the sublime power of nature. In this period artists like Boussingault used impressionistic styles to really study these environments. They emphasized a more subjective emotional experience of nature. Editor: So, like saying, "Here’s the forest…but how does it *feel*?" As the world barrels into modernity, art zooms in on our subjective feeling selves, hiding out in foggy groves? Curator: In a way, yes! This work highlights a tension prevalent throughout the 1920's. It's like it uses its very mutedness to express what a place can inspire. Editor: It’s kind of melancholy, too. Like looking back into the woods of memory, the deeper in you go, the more you find obscured in gentle mist and watercolor stains. Curator: It makes one wonder what memories and artistic traditions the artist himself wanted to revive in such a simple yet impressive work! Editor: Mmh, true...it has some kind of timeless and simple feel. Something about the impermanence of watercolor also captures the ephemeral quality of a walk in the woods.