Rejsedagbog 1845

Johan Thomas Lundbye created this small travel journal sometime in the 1800s, using paper, ink, and leather. These materials are all relatively commonplace, but when combined in this way they speak to specific class aspirations. The pages are filled with the artist’s handwriting, documenting his observations, and the book’s small scale makes it an object of great intimacy. Lundbye was a landscape painter, and although no landscapes are rendered here, the journal itself can be considered as a ‘landscape’ of his mind. It is an artwork built through the accretion of daily thoughts, and like other works of visual art, invites the viewer to explore its contours and depths. Considered in this way, the humble book can be seen as a form of material culture. It is an example of a craft, here imbued with great artistic significance, challenging traditional distinctions between fine art and the everyday.