Solgangsbris 

Hans Gude painted this scene of coastal Norway, likely in the mid-19th century. He captured a view of where land meets sea, and where ordinary life meets nature. Gude was a professor at the art academy in Karlsruhe, Germany, which was one of the most important art schools in Europe. He painted in a style influenced by the Dusseldorf school of painting, which focused on realism and accurate depictions of nature. But he broke with many of their conventions. The painting embodies a romantic nationalism that was current in Norway at the time it was painted. Norway was under Swedish rule for much of the 19th century, and many Norwegians looked back to their past for a sense of national identity. The rugged coastline and simple buildings in Gude's painting evoke a timeless and authentic vision of Norwegian life, which was a coded assertion of its cultural independence. To better understand this painting, we can research the history of Norwegian nationalism, the Dusseldorf school of painting, and the politics of art academies in 19th-century Europe. Art is always a product of its time, and a reflection of the society that created it.