A Beech Wood in May near Iselingen Manor, Zealand

In P.C. Skovgaard's 1857 beech forest, a little girl's red-and-white dress, the colours of the Danish flag, glows against the fresh green of May. Her grandfather, meanwhile, has been nudged into the background.

Transcript

Good morning, this is Art Brief. Today it's A Beech Wood in May near Iselingen Manor, Zealand, painted by the Danish artist P. C. Skovgaard in eighteen fifty-seven. Look for the splash of red among the green. It's a dress, worn by one of two girls ambling down the path with a golden-haired dog. Red and white, the colours of the Danish flag. Around her, the beeches have just unfurled their leaves, a delicate light green that marks the forest's brief glory in May. The trunks rise and the crowns arch over the path like a church. These children belong to the family who commissioned the painting. Look into the middle distance, at the family on the grass. Their grandfather has quite literally been pushed into the background. This picture is about childhood, and first beginnings. You'll find it at the National Gallery of Denmark, in Copenhagen.