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The interface between soul and nature in the Danish Golden Age is illustrated in the special exhibition "The Soul in Nature. The Danish Golden Age 1800-1850" by focusing on the new departures and tendencies of the period within the spheres of natural sciences, technology, culture and art.
In the early 19th century, a series of violent events forced Denmark to its knees, economically as well as politically. At the same time, a new intellectual movement was introduced from Germany: Romanticism - and by that the idea that everything is combined. Romanticism had a major impact on the intellectual minds of the Golden Age; art and science were inextricably connected and the boundaries between the different scientific and cultural environments were much more vague than they are today. The Danish physicist, H.C. Ørsted also wrote poetry and prose. The painter Eckersberg kept meteorological diaries and conducted mathematical calculations as part of the preliminary studies for his seascapes. Hans Christian Andersen was not only a worldfamous writer, he was also an ardent supporter of natural sciences and the new technological conquests.
The social life of the Golden Age was characterised by creativity, innovative thinking and talented artistic expression. No other era in Danish history has probably created so many important personalities. From Kierkegaard to Thorvaldsen and from Eckersberg to H.C. Ørsted and Hans Christian Andersen came contributions that have made alasting impact, internationally as well. The exhibition provides a broad introduction to the era, its social life and events and its outstanding individuals.
The exhibition includes exhibits as different as a steam engine, Eckersberg's and Lundbye's paintings, a reconstructed section of Kamma Rahbek's garden, the Constitution of 1849 and Heiberg's astronomical telescope. |
