National Museum Of Photography (Denmark)
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The National Museum of Photography (''Nationale Fotomuseum'') is located in the Black Diamond, a modern waterfront extension to the
Royal Danish Library The Royal Library ( da, Det Kongelige Bibliotek) in Copenhagen is the national library of Denmark and the university library of the University of Copenhagen. It is among the largest libraries in the world and the largest in the Nordic countries ...
in
Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
.


History

The National Museum of Photography, founded in 1996, moved into its current premises when the Black Diamond was completed in 1999. However, the museum is based on the Royal Library's collections. Since the invention of photography in 1839, photographs have been included in The Royal Library’s collections. The first items in the collection were photographs pasted into printed books. Later a collection of individual photographs emerged through donations and acquisitions. In 1902, the collection was incorporated into the then newly established Department of Maps and Pictures. From the beginning of the 1950s, efforts to build a comprehensive photographic collection were intensified and the collection grew tremendously under the direction of Bjørn Ochner, Denmark’s first photo-historian. Today the Royal Library's collection contains around 18 million photographs. Photographs which are either of special historic or artistic importance now form the basis of the museum.


Collections

The museum's collections, consisting of around 100,000 photographs, cover Danish and international photography from its invention in 1839 to the present day. Pioneering photography from the 19th century is particularly well represented. The collection of
daguerreotype Daguerreotype (; french: daguerréotype) was the first publicly available photographic process; it was widely used during the 1840s and 1850s. "Daguerreotype" also refers to an image created through this process. Invented by Louis Daguerre an ...
s is the largest in Scandinavia.


Exhibitions

The museum's exhibitions are generally based on its collection which is frequently supplemented with loans from artists or other institutions. Exhibitions can be based on a theme, a genre, a place, a specific photographer or else aspects of the collection are highlighted via loans from artists or institutions at home and abroad.


See also

*
Photography in Denmark In Denmark, photography has developed from strong participation and interest in the very history of photography, beginnings of the art in 1839 to the success of a considerable number of Danes in the world of photography today. Pioneers Mads Alst ...


References


External links

* {{authority control Art museums and galleries in Copenhagen National museums of Denmark Photography museums and galleries in Denmark Art museums established in 1996 1996 establishments in Denmark