Vinteren 1845

Adolph Kittendorff created this print, "Winter," using engraving techniques sometime in the 19th century. It shows a grandmother sitting with two children in front of a stove. In its time, this image spoke to then-current debates about the responsibility of the state toward its most vulnerable citizens. Denmark was undergoing rapid social changes. The old agrarian economy was giving way to industrialization, and new forms of poverty and inequality were emerging. The image evokes the hardships faced by poor families during the long Scandinavian winters and it implies that even basic comforts like warmth and shelter were not always assured. To understand the image fully, we might look at government documents and social surveys from the period to better understand the economic realities. We might consult church records to find out about charitable relief efforts. The meaning of art is always bound up with the social conditions in which it is made and viewed.