En dreng med en guldsmed. Stående nøgen dreng med en med en guldsmed, støbt i bronze, i venstre hånd 1869

Curator: We’re standing before August Saabye's "A Boy with a Dragonfly," created in 1869. It’s currently housed here at the SMK. Curator: It’s incredibly tactile. The smooth, almost luminous quality of the marble suggests a deliberate engagement with classicism. There is such incredible labor intensity in how its made; marble is never neutral! Curator: Right, and consider what the "nude" represented during this period. It wasn't simply about the human form. Saabye situates us within the dominant ideals of purity, innocence, and an almost sanitized vision of boyhood. Curator: But think of the stone itself. Marble quarries, the labor of extraction, transportation, and then the intense carving required—those aspects become invisible in the finished product. Curator: Precisely. We're invited to focus on idealized form, diverting attention from those often-exploitative processes. Where did that marble come from? Who was involved in extracting and shaping it? What does the use of that specific material signify within a global context of trade and extraction? Curator: The dragonfly becomes a focal point as well. Such careful construction must be used with intent. Its metallic and airy being makes a great counterpart to the heavy weight of the marble, which provides a kind of counter-balance of lightness with the weight of the form and material. Curator: Absolutely, but think too about the boy's averted gaze, the positioning of his hands almost protectively around this insect. What statement does it make when placing boyhood, innocence and nature, under such classical expectations. Curator: I think looking at how Saabye combined the weight of history within the details provides us an access point to consider not only classicism, but what gets buried through classical reference. The tension and careful consideration in Saabye's execution holds a real energy. Curator: Indeed, by acknowledging these intersectional relationships of materiality, we reveal its powerful, sometimes hidden dimensions of what boyhood and purity represented. Curator: And considering its place and time, "A Boy with a Dragonfly" gives me pause, now more than ever to appreciate the labor intensity behind production.