The National Gallery of Denmark presents European Art 1300-1800 a new exhibition on view through 19 February, 2012.
Lucas Cranach the Elder, Melancholia, 1523. National Gallery of Denmark
Five hundred years of art unfold themselves before your eyes in a new, extensive, and audience-oriented display at the National Gallery of Denmark. From Medieval times to the Enlightenment, this new display of “European Art 1300-1800″ takes you on a tour of the most important periods and styles within Western art. On that journey you are in the company of some of the main figures within art history. The new display shows more than 450 works in a total of 18 freshly renovated exhibition rooms. A tremendous amount of art and art history is there for you to explore, offering historical focal points as well as present-day perspectives to ensure poignancy and relevance for modern audiences.
Con amore – a collection built by the kings
The older European art housed at the National Gallery of Denmark constitutes the oldest art collection in Denmark and has its roots all the way back to the private collections of the kings. From the early 16th century up until the abolishment of absolute monarchy in 1848 the kings acquired the art themselves and so left their personal imprint on the collection; and, as is only to be expected, they did so with varying degrees of passion and a more or less sure eye for quality. For this reason the collection encompasses the masterful and the mediocre alike, but by virtue of its tremendous scope – and recent, judicious acquisitions – it is uniquely representative within many areas.
Chronology and geography
Overall, “European Art 1300-1800” is arranged in order of chronology and country of origin, thereby allowing for a relatively easy overview of and insight into the tremendous wealth of material. You are initially offered a choice of three different routes through the five centuries of art, which place especial emphasis on Italian, Dutch, Flemish, French, Spanish, and German art. The three routes each outline different movements within the arts and also point to crucial chapters within the collection’s history.
The famous and the forgotten
Naturally, “European Art 1300-1800” offers a welcome opportunity to reacquaint yourself with important masterpieces by some of the leading figures within art history such as Mantegna, Titian, El Greco, Jordaens, and Bernini. Artists such as Cranach, Rubens, and Rembrandt also command special attention in this display, where their works are presented in a monographic setting alongside works by their pupils or by artists from the same scene or circle. Conversely, the display also presents undercurrents within the art scene as well as some of those artists who have been standing in the shadow of well-known masters. Similarly, the display encompasses examples of motifs that are very rarely treated within the arts, e.g. depictions from the colonies in Africa and Latin America. – www.smk.dk