''Sommerdag ved Roskilde Fjord'' (''Summer Day by Roskilde Fjord'') is an oil painting by the Danish artist

L. A. Ring Laurits Andersen Ring (; 15 August 1854 – 10 September 1933) was one of the foremost Danish painters of the turn of the 20th century, who pioneered both symbolism and social realism in Denmark. Considered one of the masterpieces of Danish culture ...

from 1900. Considered to be one of the masterpieces of Danish culture, it was included in the 2006 Danish Culture Canon. It is displayed in the

Randers Museum of Art Randers () is a city in Randers Municipality, Central Denmark Region on the Jutland peninsula. It is Denmark's sixth-largest city, with a population of 62,802 (as of 1 January 2022).Roskilde Fjord in western Zealand. The water is calm reflecting a group of fishing boats and the bluish tints of the sky. The scene is bathed in light, possibly symbolising a sense of infinity. Ring provides a panoramic view of the scene, drawing the eyes to the horizon and beyond, paving the way for sensual interpretations.

Interpretation

The art historian Finn Terman Frederiksen believes that while the painting provides an extremely accurate rendering of the scene during an unusually warm period in August 1900, it can also be interpreted as symbolising the cycle of life from night to day, from death to life and, perhaps also, Ring's own rebirth after his marriage to

Sigrid Kähler Sigrid Kähler, also Sigrid Andersen Ring, (12 May 1874 – 9 May 1923) was a Danish ceramist and painter. Through her father, the ceramist Herman A. Kähler, she met the painter L. A. Ring. After their marriage in 1896, she inspired many of his ...

. It thus combines

Realism Realism, Realistic, or Realists may refer to: In the arts *Realism (arts), the general attempt to depict subjects truthfully in different forms of the arts Arts movements related to realism include: *Classical Realism *Literary realism, a move ...

with Symbolism, the driving forces behind Ring's work.Merete Sanderhoff, "Realist i samtiden"
Statens Museum for Kunst. Retrieved 8 February 2013.

References

{{Laurits Andersen Ring Paintings by L. A. Ring Danish Culture Canon 1900 paintings Collections of the Randers Museum of Art Landscape paintings 20th-century paintings in Denmark