The Hirschsprung Collection (

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish a ...

: Den Hirschsprungske Samling) is an

art museum An art museum or art gallery is a building or space for the display of art, usually from the museum's own Collection (artwork), collection. It might be in public or private ownership and may be accessible to all or have restrictions in place. A ...

located on

Stockholmsgade Stockholmsgade (literally "Stockholm Street") is a mainly residential street in central Copenhagen, Denmark. It follows the northwestern margin of Østre Anlæg, linking Sølvtorvet in the southwest with Oslo Plads at Østerport station in the ...

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 ...

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

. It is located in a parkland setting in

Østre Anlæg Østre Anlæg is a public park in Copenhagen. Once it was a part of the old city fortifications. The park was designed by landscape architect H.A. Flindt who also designed Ørstedsparken and Copenhagen Botanical Garden on the old fortification. ...

, near the Danish National Gallery, and houses a large collection of

Danish art Danish art is the visual arts produced in Denmark or by Danish artists. It goes back thousands of years with significant artifacts from the 2nd millennium BC, such as the Trundholm sun chariot. For many early periods, it is usually considered ...

from the 19th and early 20th century. The emphasis is on the

Danish Golden Age The Danish Golden Age ( da, Den danske guldalder) covers a period of exceptional creative production in Denmark, especially during the first half of the 19th century.Kulturnet DanmarkGuide to the Danish Golden Age Although Copenhagen had suffered ...

, from 1800 to 1850, but also the

Skagen Painters The Skagen Painters ( da, Skagensmalerne) were a group of Scandinavian artists who gathered in the village of Skagen, the northernmost part of Denmark, from the late 1870s until the turn of the century. Skagen was a summer destination whose scen ...

and other representatives of the

Modern Breakthrough The Modern Breakthrough ( no, Det moderne gjennombrudd, da, Det moderne gennembrud, sv, Det moderna genombrottet) is the common name of the strong movement of naturalism and debating literature of Scandinavia which replaced romanticism near the ...

are well represented. The museum is built around the personal art collection of

Heinrich Hirschsprung Heinrich Hirschsprung (7 February 1836 – 8 November 1908) was a Danish tobacco manufacturer, arts patron and art collector most known for founding the Hirschsprung Collection in Copenhagen, a museum dedicated to Danish art from the 19th and ...

, a tobacco manufacturer and

patron of the arts Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings, popes, and the wealthy have provided to artists su ...

who founded his art collection in 1865. Almost four decades later, in 1902, he donated it to the Danish state. It is displayed in a purpose-built Neoclassical museum building designed by

Hermann Baagøe Storck Hermann Baagøe Storck (18 February 1839 – 4 December 1922) was a Danish architect and heraldist. As an architect, he is mainly known for the restoration of historic buildings. Among his own designs, his building for the Hirschsprung Collec ...

and completed in 1911.

History

The collection

was a tobacco manufacturer at A.M. Hirschsprung & Sønner. He was married to Pauline Hirschsprung, and the couple took a profound interest in the arts and counted many prominent artists of their day among their close friends, including the writer

Holger Drachmann Holger Henrik Herholdt Drachmann (9 October 1846 – 14 January 1908) was a Danish poet, dramatist and painter. He was a member of the Skagen artistic colony and became a figure of the Scandinavian Modern Breakthrough Movement. Early yea ...

and the painter

Peder Severin Krøyer Peder Severin Krøyer (; 23 July 1851 – 21 November 1909), also known as P. S. Krøyer, was a Danish painter. Life Growing up and early training Krøyer was born in Stavanger, Norway, on 23 July 1851 to Ellen Cecilie Gjesdal. He was rai ...

, both associated with the Skagen colony. Over a period of four decades, beginning in 1866, Hirschsprung built an extensive collection of Danish art from the beginning of the 18th century and up to their own day. The collection was shown to the public for the first time in 1888 at Charlottenborg. This happened in connection with the Nordic exhibition of Industry, Agriculture, and Art which was expected to draw many foreign visitors to Copenhagen. The exhibition catalogue included 313 items, representing some 60 Danish artists. About half were paintings while the rest were drawings, watercolours, pastels and some sculptures.

Planning of the museum

In 1900, Pauline and Heinrich Hirschsprung decided to donate their art collection to the Danish state. They had a deed of gift drawn up, which was deposited with the Danish Ministry of Cultural Affairs. However, the donation was not made public until two years later, in 1902, when the collection was once again exhibited at Charlottenborg. At the same event, the art historian Emil Hannover was put in charge of cataloging the collection. The exhibition at Charlottenborg also included renderings of the planned museum building, which had been designed by the architect

. Disliking the

Historicist Historicism is an approach to explaining the existence of phenomena, especially social and cultural practices (including ideas and beliefs), by studying their history, that is, by studying the process by which they came about. The term is widely u ...

style which dominated museum architecture in Copenhagen at the time, it was of critical importance to Hirschsprung that the collection be placed in an independent building built to a more "sober" design. He wanted the museum to stand on the ground left open by the now demolished ramparts around Copenhagen, where a number of new museum buildings, including the recently inaugurated

National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current Director o ...

from 1899, had been constructed towards the turn of the century. Under the terms of the deed of gift, the Danish state and the City of Copenhagen, on their side, were required to make a site and a building available for its exhibition. This scheme was similar to the one which had been agreed upon in connection with

Carl Jacobsen Carl Christian Hillman Jacobsen (2 March 1842 – 11 January 1914) was a Danish brewer, art collector and philanthropist. Though often preoccupied with his cultural interests, Jacobsen was a shrewd and visionary businessman and initiated the tra ...

's foundation of the

Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek The Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek ("ny" means "new" in Danish; "Glyptotek" comes from the Greek root ''glyphein'', to carve, and ''theke'', storing place), commonly known simply as Glyptoteket, is an art museum in Copenhagen, Denmark. The collection ...

. Still Hirschsprung's demand for an independent building gave rise to a political debate on arts politics which went on for several years and put the plans on hold. While discussions were going on, Hirschsprung continued to build the collection with acquisitions such as

Joakim Skovgaard Joakim Frederik Skovgaard (18 November 1856 – 9 March 1933) was a Danish painter. He is remembered above all for the frescos which decorate Viborg Cathedral. Biography Born in Copenhagen, from an early age he was trained in drawing and paintin ...

's cartoons for the decoration of

Viborg Cathedral , image = Viborg Cathedral June 2012.jpg , imagesize = 250px , caption = , pushpin map = Denmark , pushpin label position = , pushpin map alt = , pushpin mapsize = , ...

and a number of works by contemporary artists such as

Michael Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian an ...

and

Anna Ancher Anna Ancher (18 August 1859 – 15 April 1935) was a Danish artist associated with the Skagen Painters, an artist colony on the northern point of Jylland, Denmark. She is considered to be one of Denmark's greatest visual artists. Background An ...

and

Vilhelm Hammershøi Vilhelm Hammershøi (), often anglicised as Vilhelm Hammershoi (15 May 186413 February 1916), was a Danish painter. He is known for his poetic, subdued portraits and interiors.Souren Melikian,Hammershoi's decade of brilliance, before banality set ...

from the art collector Alfred Bramsen's Collection. A number of private individuals also promised to donate works to the collection once it passed into public ownership while others were purchased by Hirschsprung conditional on the same event. To make the collection into a representative display of 19th-century Danish art, Hirschsprung also started to add sculptures to his holdings, using the sculptor and family friend

Ludvig Brandstrup Ludvig Brandstrup (16 August 1861 – 13 May 1935) was a Danish sculptor. He is remembered above all for his Christian IX statue, Esbjerg, equestrian statue of Christian IX in Esbjerg but was also one of the most competent portraitists of his day ...

as an adviser. In less than a year, Hirschsprung managed to collect the great majority of the 180 sculptures included in the 1902 catalogue. The collection represents 20 Danish sculptors.

Construction and opening

1907 finally saw a successful conclusion to negotiations and a start could be made on building Storck's project from 1902. The site which was ultimately chosen was in

, a park which had been laid out on the grounds of the city's former fortifications and where also the

had been built. Heinrich Hirschsprung died the following year, in 1908, and thus never saw his museum materialize. Emil Hannover, the art historian who had catalogued the collection, was charged with the interior design of the museum as well as curating the exhibition. He hung the paintings in chronological order, in the spirit of Hirschsprung. The Hirschsprung Collection opened to the public in 1911. Pauline Hirschsprung was present at the official opening on 8 July, but died the following year.

Building

The museum building is a simple neoclassical building with a light

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite. Marble is typically not Foliation (geology), foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the ...

cladding and a facade with

pediment Pediments are gables, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the lintel, or entablature, if supported by columns. Pediments can contain an overdoor and are usually topped by hood moulds. A pedimen ...

s and

Doric Doric may refer to: * Doric, of or relating to the Dorians of ancient Greece ** Doric Greek, the dialects of the Dorians * Doric order, a style of ancient Greek architecture * Doric mode, a synonym of Dorian mode * Doric dialect (Scotland) * Doric ...

pilaster In classical architecture Classical architecture usually denotes architecture which is more or less consciously derived from the principles of Greek and Roman architecture of classical antiquity, or sometimes even more specifically, from the ...

s. The floor plan consists of four large toplit galleries surrounded by smaller galleries, " alcoves", with light entering from windows set high in the walls. While the building from the outside has the appearance of a temple of art, the interior, with its small rooms, has the intimacy of a private home. The entrance hall to the museum has a floor mosaic from 1910 by Joakim Skovgaard in which stylised tobacco plants commemorate the founder of the museum.

Collections

Danish Golden Age

The museum exhibits more than 700 works of art. The emphasis is on the

Golden Age of Danish Painting The Danish Golden Age ( da, Den danske guldalder) covers a period of exceptional creative production in Denmark, especially during the first half of the 19th century.Kulturnet DanmarkGuide to the Danish Golden Age Although Copenhagen had suffered ...

. All the major painters of the period are represented, including C. W. Eckersberg,

Christen Købke Christen Schiellerup Købke (26 May 1810 – 7 February 1848) was a Danish painter, and one of the best known artists from the Golden Age of Danish Painting. Childhood and early training He was born in Copenhagen, Denmark. He was one of 11 c ...

Constantin Hansen Carl Christian Constantin Hansen (Constantin Hansen) (3 November 1804 – 29 March 1880) was one of the painters associated with the Golden Age of Danish Painting. He was deeply interested in literature and mythology, and inspired by art hist ...

Wilhelm Marstrand Nicolai Wilhelm Marstrand (24 December 1810 – 25 March 1873), painter and illustrator, was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, to Nicolai Jacob Marstrand, instrument maker and inventor, and Petra Othilia Smith. Marstrand is one of the most renowned ar ...

and

Martinus Rørbye Martinus Christian Wesseltoft Rørbye (; 17 May 1803 – 29 August 1848) was a Danish painter, known both for genre works and landscapes. He was a central figure of the Golden Age of Danish painting during the first half of the 19th century. Th ...

, as well as many lesser known names. Image:C W Eckersberg 1841 - Kvinde foran et spejl.jpg,

Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg (2 January 1783 – 22 July 1853) was a Danish painter. He was born in Blåkrog in the Southern Jutland region of Denmark. He went on to lay the foundation for the period of art known as the Golden Age of Dani ...

, ''Woman Standing in Front of a Mirror'', 1841 Image:Vej over bakker af Dankvart Dreyer.jpg,

Dankvart Dreyer Dankvart Dreyer (13 June 1816 – 4 November 1852) was a Danish landscape painter of the Copenhagen School of painters who was educated under the guidance of Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg. Around 1840, he was part of the emerging National Romanti ...

, ''Road across Hills'', c. 1842

Modern Breakthrough

The artistic generation in the late 19th century, also known as the

in Danish painting, who broke away from both the strictures of traditional Academicism and the heritage of the Golden Age of Danish Painting, is also well represented. This includes: *

such as P. S. Krøyer and

and

Theodor Philipsen Theodor Esbern Philipsen (10 June 18403 March 1920) was a Danish painter of Jewish ancestry; known for landscapes and animal portraits. He also did small figures in wax and clay. Biography Theodor Philipsen was born at Copenhagen to a cultured me ...

, Denmark's foremost representative of

Impressionism Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open Composition (visual arts), composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating ...

* Symbolisterne, The Danish

Symbolist Symbolism was a late 19th-century art movement of French and Belgian origin in poetry and other arts seeking to represent absolute truths symbolically through language and metaphorical images, mainly as a reaction against naturalism and realis ...

movement *

Fynboerne The Funen Painters or ''Fynboerne'' were a loose group of Danish artists who formed an art colony on the island of Funen at the very beginning of the 20th century. They were strongly influenced by Kristian Zahrtmann who taught at the Artists Stud ...

, ''natives of

Funen Funen ( da, Fyn, ), with an area of , is the third-largest island of Denmark, after Zealand and Vendsyssel-Thy. It is the 165th-largest island in the world. It is located in the central part of the country and has a population of 469,947 as of ...

'', a group of artists from Funen who met at

Kristian Zahrtmann Peder Henrik Kristian Zahrtmann, known as Kristian Zahrtmann, (31 March 1843 – 22 June 1917) was a Denmark, Danish Painting, painter. He was a part of the Danish artistic generation in the late 19th century, along with Peder Severin Krøyer and ...

's independent art school in the 1880s. Image:Girl in the Kitchen (Anna Ancher).jpg,

, ''Girl in the Kitchen'' 1886 Image:P S Krøyer 1899 - Sommeraften ved Skagens strand. Kunstneren og hans hustru.jpg, ''Summer Evening at Skagen Beach. The Artist and his Wife'', P. S. Krøyer, 1899.

Provenance furniture

The smaller galleries of the museum are furnished with furniture designed by the Golden Age artists and other provenance furniture associated with them. This was done at the initiative of Emil Hannover, the museum's first director, when he was put in charge of interior design prior to its opening.

Surroundings

There is a rectangular, cobbled space in front of the museum. On its left hand side, stands

Carl Johan Bonnesen Carl Johan Bonnesen (26 May 1868 – 13 December 1933) was a Danish sculptor. He specialised in depictions of animals and exotic, "primitive" subjects as seen in the first sculpture he ever exhibited, ''A Victorious Group of Huns'' from 1889. It w ...

's equestrian state ''A barbarian''. A path to the right of the museum provides access to Ørsted Park close to the rear side of the

Panorama

References

External links

*
Virtual tour of the Hirschsprung Collection
provided by

Google Arts & Culture Google Arts & Culture (formerly Google Art Project) is an online platform of high-resolution images and videos of artworks and cultural artifacts from partner cultural organizations throughout the world. It utilizes high-resolution image technol ...

* {{authority control Art museums and galleries in Copenhagen Buildings and structures completed in 1911 Art museums established in 1911 1911 establishments in Denmark Former private collections