Høje træer med efterårsløv på bakket grund 1842

P.C. Skovgaard made this pencil and watercolor work, "High Trees with Autumn Leaves on Hilly Ground," in 1842. We see a copse of trees in their autumn colors. Skovgaard was working at a time when Denmark was searching for a visual language to express national identity. Following the Napoleonic wars, a rise in national consciousness saw artists turn to the local landscape for inspiration. The institutions of art, such as the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, played a role in this. It encouraged artists to develop a uniquely Danish style. In the 1840s, the dominant artistic movement was Romanticism, but Skovgaard was one of the first to adopt a more realistic approach. His close observation of nature and careful rendering of detail set him apart. To learn more about Skovgaard and the art of his time, you can consult exhibition catalogues, biographies of the artist, and publications from the SMK, the national gallery of Denmark.