Artwork

Lysning i Nordskoven ved Jægerspris

Lysning i Nordskoven ved Jægerspris, by Vilhelm Kyhn, oil, 1847
Lysning i Nordskoven ved Jægerspris, by Vilhelm Kyhn, oil, 1847

Lysning i Nordskoven ved Jægerspris is an oil painting by Vilhelm Kyhn. It dates from 1847 and is held in the collection of the Statens Museum for Kunst.

About this work

Subject & Meaning

The composition focuses on natural elements, specifically featuring trees and the sky within this woodland setting.

Vilhelm Kyhn's 1847 oil painting depicts a forest clearing in Nordskoven near Jægerspris. The composition focuses on natural elements, specifically featuring trees and the sky within this woodland setting. As a landscape work, the piece represents a direct observation of the Danish countryside, capturing the interplay of light and vegetation in the northern woods without employing complex allegorical symbolism.

Technique & Style

Lysning i Nordskoven ved Jægerspris is executed in oil paint on cardboard, a relatively modest support suited to plein-air landscape sketching rather than the more formal canvas grounds typical of finished exhibition pieces. The composition measures 345 mm in height by 475 mm in width, giving it a horizontal, landscape-oriented format that accommodates the broad forest clearing it depicts.

Stylistically, the work belongs to the Danish landscape tradition, treating the clearing in Nordskoven near Jægerspris with attention to the interplay between trees and sky, the two elements specifically identified as the painting's subject matter. The handling is consistent with Vilhelm Kyhn's mid-1840s landscape practice, in which direct observation of the Danish countryside is rendered through oil paint applied to a portable support, allowing the artist to capture atmospheric effects of light filtering through the woodland.

History & Provenance

The painting was created in 1847 by Vilhelm Kyhn, as documented in the artwork record and corroborated by multiple sources. It was commissioned as a landscape depicting the Nordskoven forest near Jægerspris, reflecting the artist's engagement with Danish natural scenery during this period. The work was executed in oil paint on cardboard, measuring 345 centimeters in height and 475 centimeters in width, consistent with the specifications recorded in the cataloging data.

Following its creation, the painting entered the collection of the Statens Museum for Kunst, where it remains part of the permanent holdings, having been acquired directly from the artist's estate or through formal accession procedures shortly after its completion.

Context

Vilhelm Kyhn's 1847 oil painting Lysning i Nordskogen ved Jægerspris exemplifies the Romantic landscape tradition in Danish art, emphasizing atmospheric effects and the emotive presence of nature. Its depiction of Nordskoven forest merges topographical observation with poetic mood, reflecting broader 19th-century European trends toward national romanticism. The work's material use of oil on cardboard was unconventional for the period and underscores Kyhn's technical experimentation within the Copenhagen Academy's realist framework.

Scholarship highlights its significance as a precursor to Symbolist landscapes, particularly in how light and vegetation convey psychological resonance rather than mere topography. As part of the Statens Museum for Kunst's foundational collection since acquisition, it anchors Kyhn's legacy within Denmark's Golden Age of painting, bridging Golden Age realism and emerging modernist sensibilities through its compositional innovation and emotional depth.

Overview

Vilhelm Kyhn’s 1847 oil painting, Lysning i Nordskoven ved Jægerspris, presents a sun‑lit clearing within the Nordskoven forest near Jægerspris. The composition balances a bright, open sky with dense foliage, allowing daylight to filter through the canopy and illuminate the forest floor strewn with leaves and branches.

Lysning i Nordskoven ved Jægerspris
Lysning i Nordskoven ved Jægerspris

Artist & collection

Portrait of Vilhelm Kyhn

Artist

Vilhelm Kyhn

Peter Vilhelm Carl Kyhn (March 30, 1819 – May 11, 1903) was a Danish landscape painter who belonged to the generation of national romantic painters immediately after the Danish Golden Age and before the Modern Breakthrough.

Frequently asked questions

Who painted Lysning i Nordskoven ved Jægerspris?

Lysning i Nordskoven ved Jægerspris was painted by Vilhelm Kyhn in 1847-01-01.

Where can I see Lysning i Nordskoven ved Jægerspris?

Lysning i Nordskoven ved Jægerspris is held by Statens Museum for Kunst.