Der er det! råbte hun og strakte Hånden ud... 1898

Curator: This ink drawing by Fritz Syberg is titled "Der er det! råbte hun og strakte Hånden ud..." from 1898, currently residing at the SMK, the National Gallery of Denmark. I'm immediately struck by its dreamlike quality, that haunting beauty that only emerges from fairytale illustrations, would you agree? Editor: Definitely. The monochromatic palette lends it a sort of ghostly, spectral mood. The scene is almost claustrophobic, rendered so densely with marks; yet there's also a strange luminosity, a quiet stillness amidst the graphic activity, wouldn't you say? Curator: It certainly walks the line, doesn't it? I can see it in how Syberg handles light and shadow with just line work; that must have been so difficult. But beyond the technical mastery, I find it emotionally evocative. What kind of a narrative do you find hinted here? Editor: Well, formally, there is a striking division. We see a woman crouching among flora, reaching, or gesturing toward someone obscured in the background. This spatial arrangement—foregrounded figure in contrast to the distance—sets up a certain visual tension, almost a sense of waiting. Curator: Waiting, yes! Precisely. Look how the lines of the trees pull your eyes upwards towards that ethereal figure in white! It’s so symbolic—the stark figure almost appearing like an apparition, while the foreground details the world of human actions and emotions. Editor: Exactly! Syberg here harnesses those compositional dynamics in tandem with the subject—creating that sense of anticipation or anxiety so common within Symbolist works. The visual weight on either side feels balanced yet dramatically distinct. Curator: You make a striking observation with "balanced yet distinct." Syberg is toying with some difficult territory here between the ordinary and transcendental. I find that push-pull to be the very heart of Symbolist pieces that reach out to connect with those deeply human parts of us—love, fear, hope—things for which there are no answers, only feelings. Editor: In short, Syberg leaves us questioning the boundaries, blurring the known with the unknowable through tight, restless crosshatching and suggestive forms that never fully clarify their allegorical import. Curator: It’s like peeking through a veil... a masterfully uncertain, and haunting piece. Editor: Precisely. One leaves with a certain curiosity—that feels to me, at least, deeply satisfying.