Join us for the next Visitor’s Review of the greatest art museum in Copenhagen combining old and new, Danish and International Art and more!
The Danish National Gallery is the country’s largest art collection with over 260,000 works of art. Originally a royal collection, it has been open for the public since the mid-1800’s already in the States Museum før Kunst making it one of the oldest public galleries.
The museum exhibits three royal collections: paintings and sculpture; graphic art, and a cast collection, dating from the 14th century to the present day. There are some 9,000 paintings and sculptures, approximately 240,000 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 European Art Collection covers over five hundred years with works by Mantegna, Cranach, Titian, Rubens and Rembrandt on show in thirteen rooms. The Danish and Nordic Art Collection covers almost two hundred years of Scandinavian art from the Danish Golden Age (i.e. the first half of the 19th century) to the birth of Modernism in twenty four rooms in the museum featuring works by Abildgaard, Eckersberk, Købke, Ring and Hammershøi.
The building today is a great combination of an old and a new building. The original Italian Renaissance revival style building by Vilhelm Dahlerup goes back to 1896. Towards the back of the museum, there is a large modern extension by Anna Indrio and Mads Møller from 1998. It is connected by a glass panelled Street of Sculptures, a piece of art on its own!
The whole museum is accessible with a wheelchair. There are handicap toilets on the lower floor of the museum both in the old and new buildings. Accompanying persons have free entry. You can find the wheelchair access by the lift to the left of the steps at the main entrance.
After your visit, do not skip a visit to the Cafeteria where you can have a lovely breakfast with pancakes and sourdough bread or a lunch with a choice of seasonal dishes. For a snack, there is a great variety on offer including cakes, coffee, organic lemonade and wines.
Visit and photos by Vesa Turunen
Danish National Gallery, Statens Museum før Kunst
Sølvgade 48-50, 1308 Copenhagen
https://www.smk.dk/en/