Flaget hejses 1901

Niels Skovgaard made this print, Flaget hejses, sometime in the late 19th or early 20th century. The mark-making is so immediate, it’s like a little burst of looking. I love how Skovgaard captures the kids craning their necks out the window. The texture is created by these delicate lines, so thin and close together they almost vibrate. See how the light catches the edges of the window frame? You can almost feel the anticipation of the children, the excitement hanging in the air as they watch the flag being raised. The whole scene feels so intimate, like a memory half-forgotten but suddenly vivid again. There's an economy to the image; Skovgaard lets the white of the paper do so much work. It’s an intimate, evocative piece, and reminds me of the prints of Whistler, who used a similar kind of delicate touch to evoke the atmosphere of a place.