View of Frederiksborg Castle from the Northeast

Johan Christian Dahl

1817 · Pen and black ink, brush and gray wash, over a sketch in graphite · Drawings and Prints

Born in Bergen, Norway, then part of Denmark, Dahl studied in Copenhagen and remained in Denmark even after Norway was ceded to Sweden in 1814. The nationalist art historian Niels Laurits Høyen touted Dahl at the time as an important emerging artist whose works not only depicted a place but also spoke to Denmark’s national character. The massive Baroque Frederiksborg Castle was celebrated as an eternal monument of Denmark best seen in the evening, after dusk, as Dahl renders it here. Dahl visited Frederiksborg in 1814 and 1817, and this drawing, probably dating to the latter visit, honors Danish cultural heritage. Dahl’s view of the castle is from a small knoll situated at the top of a footpath in the gardens across the lake.

Artist

Johan Christian Dahl

Date

1817

Medium

Pen and black ink, brush and gray wash, over a sketch in graphite

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

Purchase, C. G. Boerner Gift, 2008