View from Classens Have 1831 - 1835

Christen Købke made this oil on canvas, View from Classens Have, in the 19th century, and it invites us to reflect on the changing role of landscape painting within Danish culture. With its open vista and dramatic sky, the painting belongs to a wider European tradition of Romantic landscape. But Købke gives this tradition a specifically Danish inflection. The light is cool and clear, the colors muted, and the composition is simple and direct. This reflects Denmark’s cultural identity in the first half of the 1800s, which saw the rise of a strong national consciousness. Artists turned to the local landscape in search of a distinctively Danish imagery, resisting the dominance of foreign styles and looking for an authentic Danish art. The emphasis on the ordinary and the everyday also reflects the influence of the middle class. The work of art historians is to investigate the interplay between such images and the society that produces them. We can consult exhibition records, letters, and critical reviews to understand the specific cultural and institutional contexts of this work.