National Gallery of Denmark

Copenhagen, Denmark

Statens Museum for Kunst ('Statens Museum' or sometimes 'National Gallery of Denmark') collects, registers, maintains, researches in and handles Danish and foreign art dating from the 14th century till the present day, mostly with their origins in western culture circles. The museum's collections constitute almost 9,000 paintings and sculptures, approximately 300,000 works of art on paper as well as more than 2,600 plaster casts of figures from ancient times, the middle-ages and the Renaissance.

The collections of the Danish National Gallery originates in the Art Chamber of the Danish monarchs. When the German Gerhard Morell became Keeper of Frederick V's Art Chamber about 1750, he suggested that the king create a separate collection of paintings. To ensure that the collection was not inferior to those of other European royal houses and local counts, the king made large-scale purchases of Italian, Netherlandish and German paintings. The collection became particularly well provided with Flemish and Dutch art. The most important purchase during Morell's term as keeper was Christ as the Suffering Redeemer by Andrea Mantegna.

Since then a great variety of purchases have been made. During the 19th century the works were almost exclusively by Danish artists, and for this reason the Museum has an unrivalled collection of paintings from the so-called Danish Golden Age. That the country was able to produce pictures of high artistic quality was something new, and a consequence of the establishment of the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in 1754.

More recently, the collection has been influenced by generous donations and long-term loans. In 1928 Johannes Rump's large collection of early French Modernist paintings was donated to the Museum. This was followed by purchases of paintings and sculpture in the French tradition.

The museum building was designed by Vilhelm Dahlerup and G.E.W. Møller and built 1889–1896 in a Historicist Italian Renaissance revival style.

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Founded: 1896
Category: Museums in Denmark

Rating

4.5/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

kate sm (6 months ago)
Great experience at SMK The exhibitions were well-curated, providing valuable insights into Danish and international art history. We were especially impressed with the Danish Art exhibition ? The museum's architecture itself is a work of art, with its modern design blending seamlessly with the historical elements of the building. The layout is user-friendly and allows visitors to explore at their own pace. There is a great offer for parents, if you enter as an adult + a child, the price of the ticket for the adult is reduced. Great initiative!
Mike Ivanenko (6 months ago)
Very impressive exhibition, we spent only 2 hors for 2nd floor abd it's not enough. I'd like to stay here 5-6 hours... maybe next time
João Maria Navarro Ferreira (6 months ago)
Beautiful collection of european art from 1300 until present. Nice to learn about Danish artists who were really talented and not so well known as the most famous ones. Still there are plenty of works of art from great artist such as Matisse, Picasso, Munch, Modigliani and Bernini
Chicco (8 months ago)
We wanted to have a look at the collection since we saw that there are some important masterpieces of famous artists. The collection is huge and considering taking several hours to visit it (at least not for a hit & go). In this period there is also a focused collection of Baroque. It is not my favourite period but it was interesting. Some of flemish school's paintings were presented. A huge number of operas of danish artists are present. Few Matisse's and Munch's are present, as well.
Samuel Fischer (8 months ago)
Very nice! You could spend days there, as they have several exhibitions (danish and international contemporary art as well as Danish, European and French art from the 14th century onwards). I enjoyed the modern art section very much, but as the museum was closing at 6 I only rushed through the danish art section in the end - seemed interesting as well :)
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