To børn, det ene siddende på en trappe med en vindrueklase i hånden. En dreng set bagfra med skjorten ud af bukserne. En akantusstængel med et sammenrullet blad 1845

Editor: This is Johan Thomas Lundbye's 1845 pencil drawing, "Two Children, one Sitting on Steps with Grapes in Hand." It feels like a quick snapshot, a fleeting moment captured, but the composition is so interesting, with seemingly unrelated images. What do you make of the page as a whole? Curator: Well, it's a visual poem, isn't it? Lundbye's sketchbook pages always give me a peek into his creative process. We're seeing his observations filtered through the lens of Romanticism. Do you see how the delicate rendering of the children contrasts with the bold lines of the acanthus leaf? Almost as if he is studying the differences in organic and imposed design, as well as studies in form. Editor: That's a good point! I was so focused on the kids, I almost missed the acanthus leaf entirely. The figure walking away looks so isolated. Curator: Perhaps this arrangement is the essence of Romanticism, where the natural world and human experience mingle in surprising and profound ways. It invites us to look closely and consider. How the details shape our interpretation. Like those grapes... What do they mean here? Are they innocent enjoyment, or something deeper? I think, we the viewers add the rest of the story. Editor: It is like a storybook that prompts further thought. So, these aren't finished works in themselves, but rather windows into the artist’s mind. That kind of freedom is fascinating to consider! Curator: Exactly. It's like finding a box of forgotten photographs, prompting half-remembered stories. Lundbye lets us share his moment, lets us into his visual diary to complete what he left us, and add it to the pages of our own history.