I dagvognen. Kunstnerens broderbørn 1898 - 1902

Hans Smidth painted his brother’s children at an unknown date with oil on canvas. The Danish painting invites us to consider the relationship between art and social mobility in the late 19th century. Smidth was the son of a poor fisherman, yet he managed to train at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts. Here, he depicts his nieces and nephews on what seems like a family vacation. We can see the children with their fishing rod. The artist presents a vision of the Danish landscape as a space of leisure and recreation. The family’s dress and bearing suggest that they are middle-class, no longer tied to the hardships of rural labor. To understand paintings like these, art historians often consult sources such as census records, travel guides, and exhibition reviews. These help us understand how artists like Smidth helped to construct new social identities in a rapidly changing world.