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[ edited & typed: 07-11 ]


Overcast, drizzling. And in a bout of - considering the warnings my travel guide gave - certainly misplaced optimism I hadn't packed an umbrella.

Ny Carlsberg Glyptothek: The museum itself is very beautiful with a glass roofed central garden courtyard with tall palm trees, a fountain and benches; the exposition halls of the old part have mosaic floors, the ornaments of which were chosen in accordance with the style and age of the objects displayed, walls painted in matching colours and stuccoed ceilings. A small, but beautifully designed modern annex, that fits perfectly with the old building, mostly for French art.

The ancient Greek collection is not especially large, but it's nice to finally see some famous pieces I'd been reading about for ages; a hall of portraits, both Greek originals and roman copies; a couple of rather interesting near eastern pieces. A large, but incredibly badly lit (especially on a rainy day like this) etruscan collection in the basement.

19th century Danish sculpture, much classicist white marble, which imo is a material it's almost impossible to be profound in - it tends to give any sculpture an air of pretty superficiality and blandness, especially when combined with the smooth, classicist style. Now I rather dislike classicism in the first place, as it's based on a wrong and idealised image of ancient Greek art; and while from the art historian's point of view I can understand why this appealed to people at one point and what they were trying to express through it, to me personally it always has a flavour of superficiality, maybe insincerity, a kind of repetitiveness and lack of originality that merely bore me.

Elna Borch, Death and the Maiden
Stephan Sinding, The Oldest of the Line; Creation Fantasy

Some of the late 19th /early 20th century Danish artists seem rather interesting...

Harald Giersing, Lady in Yellow Coat, Seated
Kai Nielsen, Two Sisters
Theodor Philipsen

Bought a book on Mesopotamia and Iran in the Persian period. So much for giving up... :: sigh ::



Statens Museum for Kunst: Again, the building. Now i know about modern architecture about as much as about modern art, possibly less, but it's impossible not to be impressed by this, though not impressed in the sense of overwhelmed, rather it's a building one feels at once at ease in. Very beautiful in a quiet, unostentatious way.

The modern extension wing stretches along the whole length of the old museum, connected to it by a glass roof and footbridges that allow you to cross back and forth between the upper floors of the old and new wings. Its front opens on a garden and exploits this view to the best advantage. Light and airy, without making one feel exposed. Complex, but with enough structure and visible axes never to be confusing or labyrinthine. There are two levels of smaller sized, rectangular expositions halls for the more 'conventional' paintings and sculptures at the back and one series of more irregular rooms spanning both levels at the front for the modern installations and such. Both are connected by openings in the walls, staircases and balconies that offer views from different perspectives; windows or floor to ceiling glass walls that make the view of the park a background or even a part of the works of art displayed.

The rooms fit the works of art so perfectly that one suspects they were designed especially for them - if not, the arrangement is a work of art in itself.

The older part I didn't really have much time for & probably will visit again...

Marinus von Reymerswaele, The Merchant and his Wife
Abraham Bloemaert, The Death of Niobe's Children
Cornelis van Haarlem, Fall of the Titans

A hall with paintings and sculptures most of which have death as a subject in one way or the other, late 19th, early 20th century Danish artists. Very intersting.

Ejnar Nielsen, The Sick Girl; Blind Girl Reading; Hell (which at the first glance one would be almost certain was painted with the images from the death camps in mind, but actually is much earlier)
Harald Slott-Møller, The Poor: The Waiting Room of Death
Joakim Skovgaard, Christ in the Kingdom of Death (Can't quite make up my mind if that one is oversized religious kitsch or actually quite good.)
Niels Hansen Jacobsen, The Shadow

Some of the later 19th century realism reminds me of the Russian 'Wanderers' movement in its realism and social critique, though I've really no idea if there's any connection...


Walked back through the botanical gardens, not very large, but beautiful, very lush, copies of ancient Greek statues that somehow look rather tasteful and in place, a pretty mid 19th century greenhouse I never got to visit due to its opening hours.


:: :: :: ::

Overall impression so far...

What I'm really impressed with is how they manage to combine old and modern architecture in a way that never seems to be possible at home, because someone will invariably scream sacrilege and how the old building needs to be preserved just as it is and will get enough conservative support to basically ruin every project. Also, the results are rarely as pleasant as I've seen here so far... There are beautiful modern buildings, but nothing flashy or on the overwhelming scale I've seen in Berlin last year. Here architecture seems to be use-oriented, humanly sized rather than stunning.

The good: not very touristy... even on a rainy day in the main tourist season at no point i felt crowded in either of the museums.

The bad: er, not very touristy. Opening hours from 10 am to 5 pm at best, often not even that....try organising a visiting schedule on that if you've only got a week. If you're looking for books on Danish artists there isn't much in English or any other language I can read.