Exhibited: Charlottenborg 1849, no. 167.

Provenance: King Frederik VII 1848–1863. Bruun Rasmussen auction 105, 2005 no. 52.

Nørre Vosborg, located on the west coast of Jutland in the area around Ringkøbing, was established by Niels Bugge as a medieval castle back in the early 1300s and has over the years been the witness to countless owners and residents, floods and fires, growth and decay. The painting here was commissioned by Frederik VII in 1848 and was in his ownership until his death in 1863. Nørre Vosborg was at the time owned by Andreas Evald Meinert Tang, who in 1826 had inherited a forgotten and worn-down family farm. He made the place his life’s mission and rebuilt, refurbished and beautified the farm and brought together its lands and tenants. The result was a long overdue period of growth for the place. With his down-to-earth hospitality and helpfulness, A.E.M. Tang returned Nørre Vosborg to its former glory as a gathering place and natural centre for the whole area. It is this atmosphere that Saabye wanted to capture with a pastoral idyll that emanates from both the landscape, place and the people in the painting.

Nørre Vosborg is today a cultural gathering place with a hotel, restaurant and facilities for seminars and conventions. (Owner: the real estate company Realdania By & Byg).