Illustration til "En Sommernat paa Krogskoven" 1829 - 1899

H.P. Hansen made this illustration for "En Sommernat paa Krogskoven" in Denmark, using engraving. The image depicts a man fleeing through a dense forest, axe slung over his shoulder, eyes wide with alarm. It’s hard to put a precise date on this work, but Hansen was active in the mid-19th Century, a period of burgeoning national romanticism. Hansen's work offers a window onto how Danes saw themselves and their relationship with the natural world. The dense forest, a space of both refuge and potential danger, reflects a society grappling with rapid modernization. Such imagery draws upon deep-seated cultural associations – the forest as a repository of folklore and ancient traditions, a space apart from the increasingly regulated and industrialized urban centers. Illustrations like this served to reinforce a sense of shared national identity, rooted in a mythologized past. To truly understand this image, we can turn to folklore studies and literary history, exploring the stories and beliefs that shaped the Danish imagination. Art history shows us that meaning is never fixed, but emerges from the complex interplay of image, text, and cultural context.