Efterår. Kæmpende hjorte 1842 - 1905

Thorvald Niss made this intaglio print, "Autumn. Fighting Deer," sometime in the late 19th century. The image represents two deer locking antlers. A large tree looms over them in the foreground, while others are battered by wind in the distance. The print's naturalism is characteristic of its time, when artists often turned to nature to explore the social and political changes occurring throughout Europe. In this case, the struggling deer could serve as a metaphor for broader social themes, such as competition, survival, and the struggle for dominance, concerns that permeated late 19th-century political discourse. To understand Niss's work better, it's important to consider the institutions that shaped him – art academies, salons, and the market for prints. Research into these areas helps us to see how art is always embedded in a complex web of social and institutional relations.