Optrækkende uvejr 1890

Curator: Good morning! We are standing before Louise Ravn-Hansen's 1890 etching entitled "Optrækkende uvejr", held here at the SMK. Editor: Whoa, it feels heavy, doesn't it? Like the air just before a proper downpour. That sky... it's about to burst! Curator: Exactly. Ravn-Hansen was working during a period where artists grappled with representing the atmosphere and the effects of light, often through landscape. This piece utilizes etching to capture a very specific kind of impending weather. Editor: You can almost smell the ozone. There is this gorgeous textural quality—the way she’s layered the lines to create those brooding clouds contrasting the still water is compelling. Curator: That's a key feature of etching. Ravn-Hansen could achieve that depth and fine detail by carefully layering lines onto the plate. Etching was popular, in part, because it allowed for multiple impressions of a work to be made. Editor: Right, multiples democratizing art. I see a lonely little rivulet snaking through the foreground, making me think about the ephemeral nature of it all. Will the coming storm wash it away, alter the whole landscape? Deep thoughts from an etching, huh? Curator: Not at all. Consider that Ravn-Hansen exhibited regularly at Charlottenborg, an important venue which had a strong impact on her contemporaries. Works such as this gained recognition and helped solidify the impressionistic tendencies we see influencing Danish landscape art. It makes one question what is seen versus what is felt. Editor: Beautifully said! It's interesting to ponder on how the world "felt" during that historical and cultural time. Perhaps Ravn-Hansen had an affinity to somber weather; the narrative suggests itself in the image so personally, don’t you think? Curator: That kind of personalized visual language has a lot to tell us, and in the right museum setting such as this one, there’s potential to amplify those voices from history even more effectively. Editor: Couldn't agree more. I’m leaving here with a new appreciation for gloomy skies. And etchings!