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The "Summer Spire" on the Chalk Cliffs of the Island Møn. Moonlight

F. Sødring1831

SMK - Statens Museum for Kunst

SMK - Statens Museum for Kunst
Copenhagen, Denmark

Sødring was among the few Danish artists of this period to look to Romantic landscape painting for inspiration, and this painting is radically different from the majority of paintings created in Denmark around 1830.

Frederik Sødring’s painting of the Summer Spire on the Cliffs of Møn differs greatly from the general feel of most paintings created in Denmark around 1830, first and foremost because it is a nocturnal scene, but also because of the way in which the motif has been treated. The artist has chosen to view the Summer Spire against a dramatic night sky where the moon breaks through the clouds and makes the chalk cliffs appear luminously white against the dark surroundings.

Sødring was among the very small number of Danish artists who looked towards the Dresden school of Romantic landscape painting from the very outset. The art of J. C. Dahl was particularly important to him; for his debut at Charlottenborg in 1828 Sødring presented two copies after Dahl, and in the years that followed the Norwegian painter’s views on art and artistic principles came to be of crucial importance to Sødring’s own work. However, some of his paintings show that he must also, at an early stage, have become interested in the German landscape painter Caspar David Friedrich’s work and artistic devices. Several features of the Summer Spire scene are very reminiscent of the German artist (the moonlight breaking through the clouds, reflected on the sea; and the tree silhouetted against the sky). However, none of the Friedrich paintings that Sødring is known to have had the opportunity to see before 1831 are obvious role models, so in all likelihood Friedrich’s impact has been mediated through Dahl’s moonlit scenes.

Details

  • Title: The "Summer Spire" on the Chalk Cliffs of the Island Møn. Moonlight
  • Creator: F. Sødring
  • Creator Lifespan: 1809 Ålborg - 1862 Hellerup
  • Creator Nationality: Danish
  • Creator Gender: Male
  • Creator Death Place: Hellerup
  • Creator Birth Place: Ålborg
  • Date Created: 1831
  • Værktekst: Sødring orienterede sig som en af de få i Danmark på denne tid mod det romantiske landskabsmaleri, og dette maleri skiller sig markant ud fra de malerier, der ellers blev malet i Danmark omkring 1830. Frederik Sødrings maleri af Sommerspiret på Møens Klint skiller sig klart ud fra hovedparten af de billeder, der blev malet i Danmark omkring 1830 først og fremmest, fordi det er et nattebillede, men også på grund af behandlingen af motivet. Han har valgt at se Sommerspiret mod en dramatisk nattehimmel, hvor månen bryder gennem skyerne og får kridtklinterne til at stå lysende hvide mod de mørke omgivelser. Sødring var en af de meget få danske malere, der lige fra første færd orienterede sig mod det romantiske landskabsmaleri i Dresden. Specielt J. C. Dahls kunst betød meget for ham han debuterede på Charlottenborg i 1828 med to kopier efter Dahl, og i de følgende år fik den norske malers natursyn og kunstneriske principper afgørende betydning for hans kunst. Nogle af hans malerier viser imidlertid, at han også tidligt må have fattet interesse for den tyske landskabsmaler Caspar David Friedrich og de kunstneriske virkemidler, han tog i anvendelse. Flere træk i billedet af Sommerspiret peger kraftigt mod den tyske maler (måneskinnet, der bryder gennem skyerne og spejler sig i havet, og træet, der ses i silhuet). Ingen af de Friedrich-billeder, Sødring med sikkerhed havde haft mulighed for at se før 1831, forekommer at være oplagte forbilleder, og påvirkningen fra den tyske maler er derfor sandsynligvis formidlet gennem Dahl med hans måneskinsstykker.
  • Teknik: Olie på lærred
  • Proveniens: Køb 1984
  • Provenance: Acquired 1984
  • Physical Dimensions: w41.5 x h30 cm (Without frame)
  • Featured Place: Møns Klint
  • Dansk link: http://www.smk.dk/index.php?id=2675
  • Dansk Titel: Sommerspiret på Møns Klint. Måneskin
  • Type: Painting
  • Rights: Statens Museum for Kunst, http://www.smk.dk/en/copyright/creative-commons/
  • Medium: Oil on canvas

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