Træstudie 1831 - 1852

Dankvart Dreyer made this tree study in Denmark, though the precise date isn't known. It is a pencil drawing on paper. Dreyer’s delicate rendering encourages us to consider the relationship between art and nature in 19th century Denmark. Dreyer was part of the Danish Golden Age, when artists turned to the local landscape for inspiration, partly because the Napoleonic wars made it difficult to travel. Artists focused on creating truthful images of their surroundings. The detailed study of trees was part of this project, and the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts encouraged artists to practice drawing trees. The art of this period aimed to establish a sense of national identity. It was both progressive, in the sense that it broke with the old hierarchies of genre, and conservative, because it served the nationalist project of the Danish state. The records of the Academy, along with letters and diaries of artists from the time, can tell us more about these complexities.