The Caroline Spring at Næsby on Funen
Dankvart Dreyer
1844-1845
We are out in nature with the artist. The trees are a little crooked, just the way that trees often are. Nature may be a little rough here, but not frightening. It all simply seems to be a view of what you are likely to see when venturing out into nature, perhaps seeking out a spring to slake your thirst or because the site has some special significance. Wellsprings are often sacred places, and here we could say that we are looking at a particular site that also represents the wellspring of life and nature. As they won increasing influence on political developments, politically interested citizens kept an open eye on the arts throughout the struggles of the 19th century to define the nation state and national identity. Dreyer's mode of painting was far too coarse and personal to please the supreme arbiter of taste at the time, the fiercely patriotic art historian N.L. Høyen.
SMK – National Gallery of Denmark, Copenhagen · Image: SMK – National Gallery of Denmark, Public domain · Text: SMK – National Gallery of Denmark (text: Henrik Holm) (adapted), CC0