Bjerglandskab med vandrer 1834 - 1835

Martinus Rørbye made this landscape drawing with pen and brush on paper. The image encapsulates the Romantic era's fascination with nature's sublimity. Consider the lone wanderer in the foreground. He is a representation of the individual's quest for spiritual and emotional awakening through nature. The sketch captures the Danish interest in landscape as a source of national identity and cultural pride. Rørbye was taught at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts. His art embodies the values of the cultural elite. His art helped to shape the perception of Danish identity in the 19th century. To understand this work, we might consult travel literature, art criticism, and the institutional records of the Danish art world. Art is always shaped by social context.