Around 1997 Queen Margrethe began to paint a series of dark and dramatic cloud pictures. Whereas the Queen had previously adopted the role of poetic and lyrical observer and interpreter of nature, The Cloud is dramatic and expressive. A registered impression becomes, as it were, a poignant expression, and the portrayal reveals a deliberate and conscious parallel to a landscape of the mind.

The painting is based on concrete observation of nature. In choosing this naturally occurring drama with its ominous whirlwind and tornado-like forms and striking flashes of verdigris light in the background, the Queen has seriously challenged her view of nature and added a new dimension.