Landskab med store træer foran en landsby 1776

Simon Malgoc created this landscape with large trees in front of a village as an etching sometime in the late 18th century. At this time, there was a growing vogue for landscape art throughout Europe, as a newly wealthy middle class sought to emulate the lifestyles of the landed aristocracy. The image is defined by a screen of tall trees, framing a distant town, and suggesting ownership and dominance over the land. Note the figure, dwarfed by the trees and town, perhaps a comment on the economic changes and the rural to urban migration then transforming the Danish countryside. Art history teaches us that images like this one do not simply reflect social change, but participate actively in the construction of new social identities. Resources in the museum archives and the national library will help to unpack these historical relationships.