View from the Citadel Ramparts in Copenhagen by Moonlight1839

Martinus Rørbye Danish

This intimately-scaled picture depicts a soldier and two sailors at the military citadel popularly known as Kastellet, which is situated to the north of Copenhagen’s old city. Rørbye’s teacher, Eckersberg, specialized in maritime subjects, but these figures, with their backs to the viewer and illuminated solely by moonlight, embody a sense of Romantic longing that recalls works by Dahl as well as German artists of the period.