Christian II færges over Lillebælt 1914 - 1918

Curator: Brrr, it feels chilly just looking at this drawing! The frantic lines depicting the sea... it’s quite evocative. Editor: Indeed. We're looking at Peter Hansen’s "Christian II færges over Lillebælt," a work made with pen and ink between 1914 and 1918. It depicts a historical event: King Christian II's crossing of the Little Belt strait. Curator: He looks miserable, doesn't he? Not the picture of a powerful monarch. More like a soggy, seasick bloke wishing he'd stayed home. And the sheer panic in those lines—the crosshatching makes everything feel so unstable. Editor: Precisely. Hansen’s application of ink captures the tempestuousness of the sea while also mirroring the king's own turbulent situation. Consider how the composition itself mirrors the narrative—everything tilts and threatens to overwhelm. Semiotically, the wild, almost chaotic linework symbolizes the disorder and risk inherent in Christian's flight. Curator: Right! It’s all visual metaphor! And, beyond the history lesson, it just feels raw, like a charcoal sketch capturing a fleeting feeling more than historical fact. You can feel the anxiety bubbling out of the page. You know, I bet Hansen wasn't necessarily trying to document anything here. It was probably a gut reaction, almost a cry. Editor: That tension is palpable. While we can analyze its formal elements and historical context, there remains something fundamentally untamed. Curator: Exactly! Some mysteries are best left un-dissected. Though your point about the semiotics of it all makes you really appreciate that sea, no? Editor: In a way. It's fascinating to consider how the formal elements of the piece conspire to reinforce and complicate our understanding of this historical moment. Curator: Ultimately, Hansen transforms historical drama into a viscerally relatable moment. Who hasn’t felt lost at sea, eh?