Strand met bomenrij aan water 1880s

Carl Bloch made this print of a beach with a line of trees next to the water using etching. The image seems simple, but its creation was tied up with the cultural project of creating a national identity for Denmark. Notice the ships on the horizon, a reference to Denmark's history as a maritime power. The focus on the landscape coincides with an artistic movement throughout Europe to paint realistic scenes of the natural world. Bloch's Denmark was undergoing major social changes; after losing territory in war with Prussia, Denmark was trying to redefine itself through its cultural institutions, such as the Royal Academy, where Bloch taught. The image of the tranquil shoreline offered a vision of the nation as a place of natural beauty and peaceful contemplation, an attempt to present Denmark as a place of cultural and artistic importance. To understand the cultural significance of this etching, we can look to historical sources like exhibition reviews, biographies of the artist, and studies of Danish cultural history.