"Munken går i enge" 1882

Curator: Welcome to Statens Museum for Kunst. We’re standing before Axel Helsted’s "Munken går i enge," an etching and ink drawing on paper created in 1882. Editor: Immediately, the materiality of the work draws me in. It’s quite delicate, the thin lines of ink suggesting rather than dictating forms. It evokes a sense of fragility and quietude. Curator: Indeed, the artist uses line work to structure a narrative scene. We see what appears to be a monk, recurring across several small vignettes, interspersed with short stanzas of text. Note the spatial relationships and how each zone invites a separate reading while also relating to the others. Editor: And there's a directness to the mark-making itself; the sketch-like quality reveals the artist's process, highlighting the labor involved in bringing this whimsical narrative to life. What do we know about the context surrounding its making? Curator: It seems Helsted explored narrative art, incorporating elements of the natural world, romantic relationships, and spiritual references, evident from the figures’ clothing. The repetition and sequencing are essential components, reflecting contemporary interests in seriality and reproduction within visual culture. Editor: I find it compelling that Helsted seems to treat the pictorial and the textual as equally weighted elements. The labour in executing each mark holds similar value regardless of if they are building textual meaning or pictorial meaning. There’s an interesting relationship between image and the poetic text included. I am quite drawn to consider if both should be interpreted in combination for total comprehension? Curator: Perhaps, in that intermingling lies the artwork’s specific aesthetic proposition, challenging the distinction between illustration and storytelling, whilst playing with modes of creating and circulating ideas. Editor: A point well-taken! Examining Helsted's print reminds us how a focus on the creation can help unpack how visual forms acquire meaning. Curator: And focusing on those forms demonstrates how their relation to one another within a carefully-arranged schema can also guide a reader to meaning.