Although Skovgaard also excelled at detailed studies of nature, he produced a number of panoramas of the Danish countryside, which were much in tune with the revival of Danish nationalism and national identity throughout the nineteenth century.

Our painting is a rare example of this. It shows a placid summer afternoon, with the so-called "Himmelbjaerget" (or celestial mountain) seen across lake Jul, near the town of Silkeborg in eastern Denmark. Skovgaard has combined all his artistic intricacy to convey the summer sunshine bathing the scene in natural light. It is an ode to the heavenly mountain, which, rising to 147 metres, is Denmark's tallest point and became a focal point of patriotic attention that endures to this day.