Johan Thomas Kundbye’s 1844 piece “Refsnæs, Coastscape” is one of the artworks on display with the Getty Museum’s “Beyond the Light: Identity and Place in 19th-Century Danish Art.” (photo by Jakob Skou-Hansend)

The Getty presents “Beyond the Light: Identity and Place in 19th-Century Danish Art,” an exhibition of tranquil landscapes and incisive portraits that tells the story of how artists helped forge Denmark’s modern cultural identity. Organized by the J. Paul Getty Museum and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, in collaboration with the Statens Museum for Kunst in Copenhagen, the exhibition features over 80 drawings, sketchbooks, oil sketches and paintings. It will be on view at the Getty Center through Aug. 20.

During an era marked by military defeat, financial collapse and national disintegration, 19th-century Danish artists examined themselves, their country and their culture with heightened scrutiny. The seemingly peaceful and intimate subjects they portrayed convey notions of belonging and displacement as Denmark was transforming into a smaller, somewhat marginalized country at the edge of Europe.

“It is remarkable to see in this exhibition how Danish art and culture reached new heights of sophistication and insight at a time when Denmark as a country was in economic and political decline,” said Timothy Potts, Maria Hummer-Tuttle and Robert Tuttle Director of The J. Paul Getty Museum. “Despite, and perhaps because of, this challenging environment, a rich and distinctive school of Danish painting emerged that focused on the landscape, seascape, built environment and portraiture of their times – a body of work that is now seen as one of the high points of Danish cultural achievement. The intimate connection between artistic exploration and national identity is one that we expect will resonate with Getty audiences.”

The exhibition explores the evolution of Danish art from approximately 1809 to 1912. Most artists of the period trained at The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen, forging a tight-knit community that led to Denmark’s first national artistic style. Artist Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg became professor of the Academy in 1818 and was instrumental in creating a curriculum that encouraged students to cultivate a devotion to mathematical perspective and to drawing from nature.

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