National Gallery of Denmark, Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen, Denmark
Like practically everywhere else in Copenhagen, the National Gallery of Denmark (SMK), which I was expecting to be not that interesting, was absolutely fantastic. The Danes are masters of doing everything wonderfully. The museum itself is attractive, the art is great, the lighting, the level of information given – everything was perfect. I love the Danes.
The history of the collection is rather interesting. It started with King Christian IV, who was an eager castle builder and needed pretty pictures to hang on those cold, vast walls. He often bought paintings in bulk – he didn’t really know much about art, and he was keen on pictures that showed drama, easy to understand symbolism and solid moral lessons. While some of the art was given to the Swedes as spoils of war in 1658, a lot has remained in Denmark, and some is still in the SMK.
In 1896, the paintings moved into the newly built Statens Museum for Kunst. It was designed by Vilhelm Dahlerup, who was a major architect of his time and was also involved in the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek. Interestingly, the building didn’t go down well amongst critics, who though the style was old-fashioned and overly heavy. Most bizarrely, it was also too small to house the whole royal collection that had been made homeless by the Christiansborg fire.
And the museum held a lot of art. Not only did it have paintings, displayed in the salon style, where every inch of space was filled with a Tetris display of art, but there was also a collection of plaster casts of famous sculptures, and a formidable collection of graphic arts (drawings, woodcuts etc.) by artists like Goya and Dürer.
It was only in the 1960s that something was finally done about the space issue. There was a major refurbishment of the museum, by architect Nils Koppel, which not only involved big architectural changes, but also led to the plaster casts being taken out (they are now at Vestindisk Pakhus on the harbour front of Copenhagen).
In 1998, a new wing to the museum was opened. It was designed by Anna Maria Indrio of C.F. Møllers Tegnestue, and it is a modernist structure which runs parallel to the original building. The two buildings are connected by the glass roof and gangways, which is both attractive and practical. Quite honestly, I thought this area was really cool – it feels very respectful, as it means you get to preserve and admire the original building. At the same time, the new design is ageless, classy and ‘ignorable’ in the nicest way.
European Art
Thanks to the 18th century purchases of Gerhard Morell, the galleries dedicated to European art are great to explore. The fact that there are Rembrandts on show is a bonus.
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