A Storm Brewing behind a Farmhouse in Zealand

Jens Juel has depicted the unique atmosphere prevailing right before a storm breaks. The last, bright rays of sunlight fall upon the farm and a gust of wind shakes the leaves before the rain starts falling. Even though the painter applied a traditional approach to the distribution of light and shadow in the picture, the proliferation of accurate details reveals that he made meticulous studies in nature before embarking on the painting. Juel was at the vanguard of landscape painting in Denmark, and this is one of the first works within Danish art to communicate a personal experience of nature. Several younger artists admired the painting, and Johan Christian Dahl was inspired by it for his painting of the Tryggevælde River (right).