Lille Regine i Vallekilde 1939

Johan Thomas Lundbye made this small etching, Lille Regine i Vallekilde, on a metal plate sometime in the first half of the 19th century. It's all in these delicate lines, like whispers on paper, a dance of light and shadow that brings this little girl and her world to life. I imagine Lundbye, squinting, bent over the plate, carefully scratching in each line, building up the image bit by bit. I wonder, what was he thinking as he drew her bonnet, that funny dog, the church? It’s not just a picture; it's a whole mood. Notice the way the lines thicken and thin, creating depth and texture, like the soft folds of her dress or the rough bark of a tree. There is a certain kind of casualness here, a sense of just trying things out, with those sketches at the top. It reminds me of other artist’s sketchbooks, like Philip Guston’s, where you see them working through ideas, letting their minds wander. It’s like he's inviting us into his thought process, into the very act of seeing.