Golden Age of Danish Painting - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Danish Golden Age covers the period of creative production in Denmark

Denmark

Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

, especially during the first half of the 19th century. Although Copenhagen had suffered from fires, bombardment

Battle of Copenhagen (1807)

The Second Battle of Copenhagen was a British preemptive attack on Copenhagen, targeting the civilian population in order to seize the Dano-Norwegian fleet and in turn originate the term to Copenhagenize.-Background:Despite the defeat and loss of many ships in the first Battle of Copenhagen in...

and national bankruptcy, the arts took on a new period of creativity catalysed by Romanticism from Germany

German Romanticism

For the general context, see Romanticism.In the philosophy, art, and culture of German-speaking countries, German Romanticism was the dominant movement of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. German Romanticism developed relatively late compared to its English counterpart, coinciding in its...

. The period is probably most commonly associated with the Golden Age of Danish Painting from 1800 to around 1850 which encompasses the work of Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg

Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg

Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg was a Danish painter. He was born in Blåkrog in the Duchy of Schleswig , to Henrik Vilhelm Eckersberg, painter and carpenter, and Ingeborg Nielsdatter...

and his students, including Wilhelm Bendz

Wilhelm Bendz

Wilhelm Ferdinand Bendz Danish painter mainly known for genre works and portrait which often portray his artist colleagues and their daily lives...

, Christen Købke

Christen Købke

Christen Schiellerup Købke , Danish painter, was born in Copenhagen to Peter Berendt Købke, a baker, and his wife Cecilie Margrete. He was one of 11 children...

, Martinus Rørbye

Martinus Rørbye

Martinus Christian Wesseltoft Rørbye 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....

, Constantin Hansen

Constantin Hansen

Carl Christian Constantin Hansen 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 historian Niels Lauritz Høyen, he tried to recreate a national historical painting based on Norse mythology...

, and Wilhelm Marstrand

Wilhelm Marstrand

Nicolai Wilhelm Nikolaj Marstrand , painter and illustrator, was born in Copenhagen, Denmark to Nicolai Jacob Marstrand, instrument maker and inventor, and Petra Othilia Smith...

as well as the sculpture of Bertel Thorvaldsen

Bertel Thorvaldsen

Bertel Thorvaldsen was a Danish-Icelandic sculptor of international fame, who spent most of his life in Italy . Thorvaldsen was born in Copenhagen into a Danish/Icelandic family of humble means, and was accepted to the Royal Academy of Arts when he was eleven years old...

.

It also saw the development of Danish architecture

Architecture of Denmark

The architecture of Denmark has its origins in the Viking period, richly revealed by archaeological finds. It became firmly established in the Middle Ages when first Romanesque, then Gothic churches and cathedrals sprang up throughout the country...

in the Neoclassical style

Neoclassical architecture

Neoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century, manifested both in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing...

. Copenhagen, in particular, acquired a new look, with buildings designed by Christian Frederik Hansen

Christian Frederik Hansen

Christian Frederik Hansen , known as C.F. Hansen, was the leading Danish architect between the late 18th century and the mid 19th century, and on account of his position at the Royal Danish Academy of Art the most powerful person in artistic circles for many years...

and by Michael Gottlieb Bindesbøll

Michael Gottlieb Bindesbøll

Michael Gottlieb Birckner Bindesbøll was a Danish architect active during the Danish Golden Age in the first half of the 19th century. Most known for his design of Thorvaldsens Museum in Copenhagen, he was a key figure in the stylistic shift in Danish architecture from late classicism to Historicism...

.

In relation to music

Music of Denmark

Denmark's most famous classical composer is Carl Nielsen, especially remembered for his six symphonies while the Royal Danish Ballet specializes in the work of Danish choreographer August Bournonville. Danes have distinguished themselves as jazz musicians, and the Copenhagen Jazz Festival has...

, the Golden Age covers a number of figures inspired by Danish romantic nationalism including J.P.E. Hartmann

Johan Peter Emilius Hartmann

Johan Peter Emilius Hartmann was a Danish composer.-Biography:Hartmann came from a musical family of German descent. Although he received his music lessons initially from his father, he taught himself as much as possible...

, Hans Christian Lumbye

Hans Christian Lumbye

Hans Christian Lumbye was a Danish composer of waltzes, polkas, mazurkas and galops, among other things.As a child, he studied music in Randers and Odense, and by age 14 he was playing the trumpet in a military band. In 1829, he joined the Horse Guards in Copenhagen, still continuing his music...

, Niels W. Gade and the ballet master August Bournonville

August Bournonville

August Bournonville was a Danish ballet master and choreographer. August was the son of Antoine Bournonville, a dancer and choreographer trained under the French choreographer, Jean Georges Noverre, and the nephew of Julie Alix de la Fay, née Bournonville, of the Royal Swedish Ballet.August was...

. Literature centred on Romantic thinking

Romanticism

Romanticism was an artistic, literary and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Europe, and gained strength in reaction to the Industrial Revolution...

, introduced in 1802 by the Norwegian-German philosopher Henrik Steffens

Henrik Steffens

Henrik Steffens , was a Norwegian-born Danish philosopher, scientist, and poet.He was born at Stavanger, Norway. At the age of fourteen he went with his parents to Copenhagen, where he studied theology and natural science...

. Key contributors were Adam Oehlenschläger, Bernhard Severin Ingemann

Bernhard Severin Ingemann

Bernhard Severin Ingemann was a Danish novelist and poet.Ingemann was born in Thorkildstrup, on the island of Falster, Denmark. The son of a vicar, he was left fatherless in his youth. While a student at the University of Copenhagen he published his first collection of poems Bernhard Severin...

, Nikolaj Grundtvig and, last but not least, Hans Christian Andersen

Hans Christian Andersen

Hans Christian Andersen was a Danish author, fairy tale writer, and poet noted for his children's stories. These include "The Steadfast Tin Soldier," "The Snow Queen," "The Little Mermaid," "Thumbelina," "The Little Match Girl," and "The Ugly Duckling."...

, the proponent of the modern fairytale. Søren Kierkegaard

Søren Kierkegaard

Søren Aabye Kierkegaard was a Danish Christian philosopher, theologian and religious author. He was a critic of idealist intellectuals and philosophers of his time, such as Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, Friedrich Wilhelm Joseph Schelling and Karl Wilhelm Friedrich Schlegel...

furthered philosophy while Hans Christian Ørsted

Hans Christian Ørsted

Hans Christian Ørsted was a Danish physicist and chemist who discovered that electric currents create magnetic fields, an important aspect of electromagnetism...

achieved fundamental progress in science. The Golden Age thus had a profound effect not only on life in Denmark but, with time, on the international front too.

Background and context

The origins of the Golden Age can be traced back to around the beginning of the 19th century. Surprisingly, this was a very rough period for Denmark. Copenhagen, the centre of the country's intellectual life, first experienced huge fires

Copenhagen Fire of 1795

The Copenhagen Fire of 1795 started Friday the June 5, around 3 p.m. at the Navy’s old base at Gammelholm in the fleets warehouse for coal and barrels...

in 1794 and 1795 which destroyed both Christiansborg Palace

Christiansborg Palace

Christiansborg Palace, , on the islet of Slotsholmen in central Copenhagen, is the seat of the Folketing , the Danish Prime Minister's Office and the Danish Supreme Court...

and large areas of the inner city. In 1801, as a result of the country's involvement in the League of Armed Neutrality

Second League of Armed Neutrality

The Second League of Armed Neutrality or the League of the North was an alliance of the north European naval powers Denmark–Norway, Prussia, Sweden and Russia. It occurred between 1800 and 1801 during the War of the Second Coalition and was initiated by Paul I of Russia...

, the British fleet inflicted serious damage on the city during the Battle of Copenhagen. In 1807, on rumours that the French might force Denmark to close the Baltic

Baltic Sea

The Baltic Sea is a brackish mediterranean sea located in Northern Europe, from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 20°E to 26°E longitude. It is bounded by the Scandinavian Peninsula, the mainland of Europe, and the Danish islands. It drains into the Kattegat by way of the Øresund, the Great Belt and...

to their shipping, the British once again bombarded Copenhangen, this time specifically targeting the city and its civilian population. Then in 1813, as a result of the country's inability to support the costs of war, Denmark declared a State bankruptcy. To make matters worse, Norway ceased to be part of the Danish realm when it was ceded to Sweden the following year.

Copenhagen's devastation nevertheless provided new opportunities. Architects and planners widened the streets, constructing beautifully designed Neoclassical buildings offering a brighter yet intimate look. At the time, with a population of only 100,000, the city was still quite small, built within the confines of the old ramparts. As a result, the leading figures of the day met frequently, sharing their ideas, bringing the arts and the sciences together. Henrik Steffens

Henrik Steffens

was perhaps the most effective proponent of the Romantic idea. In a series of lectures in Copenhagen, he successfully conveyed the ideas behind German romanticism

German Romanticism

to the Danes. Influential thinkers, such as Oehlenschläger

Adam Gottlob Oehlenschläger

Adam Gottlob Oehlenschläger was a Danish poet and playwright. He introduced romanticism into Danish literature.-Biography:He was born in Vesterbro, then a suburb of Copenhagen, on 14 November 1779...

and Grundtvig were quick to take up his views. It was not long before Danes from all branches of the arts and sciences were involved in a new era of Romantic nationalism

Romantic nationalism

Romantic nationalism is the form of nationalism in which the state derives its political legitimacy as an organic consequence of the unity of those it governs...

, later known as the Danish Golden Age.

Especially in the field of painting, change became apparent. While art had previously served to uphold the monarchy and the establishment, Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg

Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg

Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg was a Danish painter. He was born in Blåkrog in the Duchy of Schleswig , to Henrik Vilhelm Eckersberg, painter and carpenter, and Ingeborg Nielsdatter...

and his students realized that, with the arrival of industrialization, the middle classes were increasingly gaining power and influence. Grand historical art gave way to more widely appealing but less pretentious genre paintings and landscapes.

The Golden Age is generally believed to have lasted until about 1850. Around that time, Danish culture suffered from the outbreak of the First Schleswig War (1848–1851). In addition, political reforms involving the end of the absolute monarchy in 1848 and the adoption of the Danish constitution

Constitution of Denmark

The Constitutional Act of Denmark is the Kingdom of Denmark's constitution, or fundamental law. Originally verified in 1849, the last revision was signed on 5 June 1953 as "the existing law, for all to unswerving comply with, the Constitutional Act of Denmark".-Idea and structure:The main...

the following year signalled the beginning of a new era. Finally, the extension of Copenhagen beyond the old ramparts during the 1850s opened up new horizons for urban expansion.

It was not until 1890 that the Danish philosopher Valdemar Vedel first used the term Guldalderen or Golden Age to describe the period. In 1896, author Vilhelm Andersen saw the Golden Age initiated by Henrich Steffens as the richest period in the cultural history of Denmark.

Painting

Around the beginning of the 19th century, the Golden Age of Danish Painting emerged to form a distinct national style for the first time since the Middle Ages; the period lasted until the middle of the century. It has a style drawing on Dutch Golden Age painting

Dutch Golden Age painting

Dutch Golden Age painting is the painting of the Dutch Golden Age, a period in Dutch history generally spanning the 17th century, during and after the later part of the Eighty Years War for Dutch independence. The new Dutch Republic was the most prosperous nation in Europe, and led European trade,...

, especially its landscape painting, and depicting northern light that is soft but allows strong contrasts of colour. The treatment of scenes is typically an idealized version of reality, but unpretentiously so, appearing more realist

Realism (visual arts)

Realism in the visual arts is a style that depicts the actuality of what the eyes can see. The term is used in different senses in art history; it may mean the same as illusionism, the representation of subjects with visual mimesis or verisimilitude, or may mean an emphasis on the actuality of...

than is actually the case. Interior scenes, often small portrait groups, are also common, with a similar treatment of humble domestic objects and furniture, often of the artist's circle of friends. Little Danish art was seen outside the country (indeed it mostly remains there to this day) although the Danish-trained leader of German Romantic painting Caspar David Friedrich

Caspar David Friedrich

Caspar David Friedrich was a 19th-century German Romantic landscape painter, generally considered the most important German artist of his generation. He is best known for his mid-period allegorical landscapes which typically feature contemplative figures silhouetted against night skies, morning...

was important in spreading its influence in Germany.

A crucial figure was Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg

Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg

Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg was a Danish painter. He was born in Blåkrog in the Duchy of Schleswig , to Henrik Vilhelm Eckersberg, painter and carpenter, and Ingeborg Nielsdatter...

, who had studied in Paris with Jacques-Louis David

Jacques-Louis David

Jacques-Louis David was an influential French painter in the Neoclassical style, considered to be the preeminent painter of the era...

and was further influenced towards Neo-Classicism by the sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen

Bertel Thorvaldsen

. Eckersberg taught at the Academy from 1818 to 1853, becoming Director from 1827–28, and was an important influence on the following generation, in which landscape painting came to the fore. He taught most of the leading artists of the period, including: Wilhelm Bendz

Wilhelm Bendz

Wilhelm Ferdinand Bendz Danish painter mainly known for genre works and portrait which often portray his artist colleagues and their daily lives...

, Albert Küchler

Albert Küchler

Albert Küchler was a Danish painter associated with the Danish Golden Age. He mainly painted genre works and portraits. He was highly esteemed by his contemporaries but is little known today.-Early life and education:...

, Christen Købke

Christen Købke

Christen Schiellerup Købke , Danish painter, was born in Copenhagen to Peter Berendt Købke, a baker, and his wife Cecilie Margrete. He was one of 11 children...

, Vilhelm Kyhn

Vilhelm Kyhn

Peter Vilhelm Carl Kyhn, was a Danish landscape painter who belonged to the generation of national romantic painters immediately after the Danish Golden Age and before the Modern Breakthrough...

, Jørgen Roed

Jørgen Roed

Jørgen Roed, , Danish portrait and genre painter associated with the Golden Age of Danish Painting, was born in Ringsted to Peder Jørgensen Roed and wife, Ellen Hansdatter.-Growing up:...

, Holger Roed

Holger Roed

Holger Peter Roed, known as Holger Roed , Danish painter, was born in Copenhagen to painter Jørgen Roed and wife Emilie Mathilde...

, Martinus Rørbye

Martinus Rørbye

, Constantin Hansen

Constantin Hansen

and Wilhelm Marstrand

Wilhelm Marstrand

Nicolai Wilhelm Nikolaj Marstrand , painter and illustrator, was born in Copenhagen, Denmark to Nicolai Jacob Marstrand, instrument maker and inventor, and Petra Othilia Smith...

An investigation of drawings, underdrawings, oil sketches and finished paintings by Eckersberg and his pupils Christen Købke and Constantin Hansen, using their Italian views as examples, points to a number of important aspects which shed light on the creative process in Danish Golden Age painting in the first half of the 19th century. The preliminary drawings – preferably composition drawings – which were done in front of the motif were meticulously constructed and reproduced many details. Architecture received the painters’ greatest attention, whereas vegetation, rocks and stones as well as figures in the landscape received a lower priority. The drawing done directly from the motif was squared up in several instances with a view to its transference to the painting, which was often no larger than the drawing. Some elements could be altered during the
process, but by and large the artist retained the original dispositions quite precisely.
In some cases the architecture was consciously altered so as to strengthen the forms and create harmony in the picture. In this way, we can prove that although the Italian motifs appear realistic at first sight, they were nonetheless adjusted or even manipulated by the artists.

Prominent artists of the Danish Golden Age of Painting included Wilhelm Bendz

Wilhelm Bendz

Wilhelm Ferdinand Bendz Danish painter mainly known for genre works and portrait which often portray his artist colleagues and their daily lives...

(1804–1832), remembered for his many technically accomplished portraits of fellow artists such as Ditlev Blunck

Ditlev Blunck

Ditlev Conrad Blunck was a Danish painter associated with the Danish Golden Age during the first half of the 19th century.-Biography:...

and Christen Christensen

Christen Christensen

Christen Christensen was a Norwegian shipyard and ship owner as well as the founder and chairman of the world's largest whaling company, A/S Oceana.-Early life:...

, a scene from the Academy's anatomy class, as well as the group portraits "A Tobacco Party" and "Artist in the Evening at Finck's Coffee House in Munich"; Constantin Hansen

Constantin Hansen

(1804–1880), deeply interested in literature

Literature

Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...

and mythology

Mythology

The term mythology can refer either to the study of myths, or to a body or collection of myths. As examples, comparative mythology is the study of connections between myths from different cultures, whereas Greek mythology is the body of myths from ancient Greece...

and inspired by Niels Laurits Høyen, who developed national historical painting

History painting

History painting is a genre in painting defined by subject matter rather than an artistic style, depicting a moment in a narrative story, rather than a static subject such as a portrait...

based on Norse mythology

Norse mythology

Norse mythology, a subset of Germanic mythology, is the overall term for the myths, legends and beliefs about supernatural beings of Norse pagans. It flourished prior to the Christianization of Scandinavia, during the Early Middle Ages, and passed into Nordic folklore, with some aspects surviving...

and painted many portraits, including the historical The Constitutional Assembly (Den grundlovgivende Rigsforsamling);
Christen Købke

Christen Købke

Christen Schiellerup Købke , Danish painter, was born in Copenhagen to Peter Berendt Købke, a baker, and his wife Cecilie Margrete. He was one of 11 children...

(1810–48), influenced by Niels Laurits Høyen, an art historian who promoted a nationalistic approach calling for artists to search for subject matter in the folk life of their country instead of searching for themes in other countries such as Italy; Wilhelm Marstrand

Wilhelm Marstrand

Nicolai Wilhelm Nikolaj Marstrand , painter and illustrator, was born in Copenhagen, Denmark to Nicolai Jacob Marstrand, instrument maker and inventor, and Petra Othilia Smith...

(1810–1873), a vastly productive artist who mastered a remarkable variety of genres, remembered especially for a number of his works which have become familiar signposts of Danish history and culture: scenes from the drawing-rooms and streets of Copenhagen during his younger days; the festivity and public life captured in Rome; the many representative portraits of citizens and innovators; even the monumentalist commissions for universities and the monarchy; and Martinus Rørbye

Martinus Rørbye

(1803–1848), remembered for his genre paintings of Copenhagen, for his landscapes and for his architectural paintings, as well as for the many sketches he made during his travels to countries rarely explored at the time. Among other artists, C.A. Jensen (1792–1870) specialized almost exclusively in portraits.

At the end of the period painting style, especially in landscape art, became caught up in the political issue of the Schleswig-Holstein Question

Schleswig-Holstein Question

The Schleswig-Holstein Question was a complex of diplomatic and other issues arising in the 19th century from the relations of two duchies, Schleswig and Holstein , to the Danish crown and to the German Confederation....

, a vital matter for Danes, but notoriously impenetrable for most others in Europe. But it was not until the 1870s when a number of young artists defied the Academy and studied in Paris that a new style embracing Realism and Impressionism

Impressionism

Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement that originated with a group of Paris-based artists whose independent exhibitions brought them to prominence during the 1870s and 1880s...

began to emerge.

Landscape painting

The art historian Niels Laurits Høyen who taught at the Academy encouraged his students to turn to landscape painting. Johan Thomas Lundbye, Christen Købke, P.C. Skovgaard, Dankvart Dreyer, Louis Gurlitt and Martinus Rørbye were among those who developed a new approach to the genre, concentrating on scenes from the Danish countryside.

Genre painting and portraits

A new type of genre painting also emerged during the Golden Age. Interiors depicting the middle and upper classes in the right settings were a favorite motif. Portraits followed the same pattern.

Sculpture

Bertel Thorvaldsen

, strongly influenced by his lengthy stay in Rome from 1797, created many internationally recognized works in his pure Neoclassical style. His breakthrough was Jason with the Golden Fleece which was highly praised by Antonio Canova

Antonio Canova

Antonio Canova was an Italian sculptor from the Republic of Venice who became famous for his marble sculptures that delicately rendered nude flesh...

and purchased by Thomas Hope, a wealthy British art collector. Other well-known works are the large Statue of Christ in Copenhagen Cathedral

Church of Our Lady (Copenhagen)

The Church of Our Lady is the cathedral of Copenhagen and the National Cathedral of Denmark. It is situated on Vor Frue Plads and next to the main building of the University of Copenhagen....

and the Lion Monument

Lion Monument

The Lion Monument , or the Lion of Lucerne, is a sculpture in Lucerne, Switzerland, designed by Bertel Thorvaldsen and hewn in 1820–21 by Lukas Ahorn...

in Lucerne. Many of his works can be seen in Copenhagen's Thorvaldsens Museum

Thorvaldsens Museum

The Thorvaldsen Museum is a single-artist museum in Copenhagen, Denmark, dedicated to the art of Danish neoclassicistic sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen , who lived and worked in Rome for most of his life . The museum is located on the small island of Slotsholmen in central Copenhagen next to...

which was not completed until 1848, four years after his death.

Other contributors to sculpture in the Golden Age include H.E. Freund, whose work centred on Scandinavian gods, and Herman Wilhelm Bissen

Herman Wilhelm Bissen

Herman Wilhelm Bissen was a Danish sculptor.Bissen first studied painting in Copenhagen, then became a pupil of the sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen. In 1824, he travelled to Rome and met Christian Daniel Rauch in Berlin. Under the influence of Thorvaldsen, his style changed from romanticism to...

, who sculpted contemporary figures such as Landsoldaten (The Foot Soldier), a victory monument to the war of 1848-51.

Architecture

During the Golden Age, Copenhagen in particular acquired a new look as architects inspired by neo-classicism

Neoclassical architecture

repaired much of the damage caused by fire in 1795 and by the British bombardment

Battle of Copenhagen (1807)

of the city in 1807.

Building on the experience of C.F. Harsdorff

Caspar Frederik Harsdorff

Caspar Frederik Harsdorff, also known as C.F. Harsdorff, , Danish neoclassical architect is considered to be Denmark’s leading architect in the late 18th century, and is referred to as “The Father of Danish Classicism”.- Early life and training :He was born Caspar Frederik Harsdørffer in...

in the late 18th century, the main proponent of Classicism in the Golden age was Christian Frederik Hansen

Christian Frederik Hansen

who developed a rather severe style with clean, simple forms and large, unbroken surfaces inspired by the architecture of ancient Greece and Rome. From 1800, he was in charge of all major building projects in Copenhagen where he designed the Copenhagen City Hall & Courthouse

Copenhagen Court House

The Copenhagen Court House is a historic building located on Nytorv in Copenhagen, Denmark. Originally built as a combuined city hall and courthouse, it now serves as the seat of the District Court of Copenhagen...

(1805–1815) on Nytorv

Nytorv

Nytorv is a public square in the centre of Copenhagen, Denmark. Together with the adjoining Gammeltorv it forms a common space, today part of the Strøget pedestrian zone...

. He was also responsible for rebuilding the Church of Our Lady

Church of Our Lady (Copenhagen)

The Church of Our Lady is the cathedral of Copenhagen and the National Cathedral of Denmark. It is situated on Vor Frue Plads and next to the main building of the University of Copenhagen....

(Vor Frue Kirke) and designing the surrounding square (1811–1829).

In 1800, Hansen was also charged with rebuilding Christiansborg Palace

Christiansborg Palace

Christiansborg Palace, , on the islet of Slotsholmen in central Copenhagen, is the seat of the Folketing , the Danish Prime Minister's Office and the Danish Supreme Court...

which had burnt down in 1794. He worked with Gustav Friedrich Hetsch

Gustav Friedrich Hetsch

Gustav Friedrich Hetsch was a German-born, Danish architect.Hetsch was born in Stuttgart and studied at the University of Tübingen and in Paris, where his teacher was Charles Percier. After finishing his studies, he worked for Jean-Baptiste Rondelet on the Church of Sainte-Geneviève...

who completed the interiors. Unfortunately, the palace burnt down once again in 1884. All that remains is the magnificent chapel which, with its Ionic columns, conveys a sense of antiquity.

Michael Gottlieb Bindesbøll

Michael Gottlieb Bindesbøll

is remembered above all for designing Thorvaldsens Museum

Thorvaldsens Museum

. In 1822, as a young man, he had experienced Karl Friedrich Schinkel

Karl Friedrich Schinkel

Karl Friedrich Schinkel was a Prussian architect, city planner, and painter who also designed furniture and stage sets. Schinkel was one of the most prominent architects of Germany and designed both neoclassical and neogothic buildings.-Biography:Schinkel was born in Neuruppin, Margraviate of...

's classicism in Germany and France and had met the German-born architect and archaeologist Franz Gau who introduced him to the colourful architecture of antiquity. His uncle, Jonas Collin, who was an active art and culture official under Frederick VI, awakened the King's interest in a museum for Bertel Thorvaldsen

Bertel Thorvaldsen

, the Danish-Icelandic sculptor, and asked Bindesbøll to make some sketches for the building. As Bindensbøll's designs stood out from those of other architects, he was given a commission to transform the Royal Carriage Depot and Theatre Scenery Painting Building into a museum. Emulating the construction of the Erechtheion and the Parthenon

Parthenon

The Parthenon is a temple on the Athenian Acropolis, Greece, dedicated to the Greek goddess Athena, whom the people of Athens considered their virgin patron. Its construction began in 447 BC when the Athenian Empire was at the height of its power. It was completed in 438 BC, although...

as freestanding buildings released from the traditional urban plan of closed streets, he completed the work in 1848.

Andreas Hallander

Andreas Hallander

Andreas Hallander was a Danish master carpenter and architect who made a significant contribution to the city of Copenhagen. Together with the buildings of Johan Martin Quist, his classically styled apartment houses form part of the legacy of 19th century Danish Golden Age architects who...

and Johan Martin Quist

Johan Martin Quist

Johan Martin Quist or Qvist was a Danish architect who made a significant contribution to the city of Copenhagen. Together with those of Andreas Hallander, his classically styled buildings form part of the legacy of 19th century Danish Golden Age architects who reconstructed areas of the old town...

were among those who rebuilt the houses in the older sections of Copenhagen which had been destroyed by fire.

Music and ballet

The 19th century also saw the emergence of a number of Danish composers who were inspired by Romantic nationalism

Romantic nationalism

Romantic nationalism is the form of nationalism in which the state derives its political legitimacy as an organic consequence of the unity of those it governs...

. Johan Peter Emilius Hartmann

Johan Peter Emilius Hartmann

(1805–1900) contributed to song and the piano repertory as well as to opera and ballet music. From 1843 until his death, he was the organist at the Church of Our Lady

Church of Our Lady (Copenhagen)

The Church of Our Lady is the cathedral of Copenhagen and the National Cathedral of Denmark. It is situated on Vor Frue Plads and next to the main building of the University of Copenhagen....

in Copenhagen. His works are not only romantic but generally inspired by the old Nordic legends

Norse mythology

.

Hans Christian Lumbye

Hans Christian Lumbye

(1810–1874) was employed as the first music director at the Copenhagen amusement park Tivoli when it opened in 1843. Here he had a platform for presenting a large foreign and Danish repertory, including his many waltzes and gallops. In 1839, he had heard a Viennese orchestra play music by Johann Strauss

Johann Strauss I

Johann Strauss I , born in Vienna, was an Austrian Romantic composer famous for his waltzes, and for popularizing them alongside Joseph Lanner, thereby setting the foundations for his sons to carry on his musical dynasty...

, after which he composed in the same style, eventually earning the nickname "The Strauss of the North". One of his most popular pieces, associated with Tivoli, is Champagnegaloppen (the Champagne Galop), which starts with the happy sound of a champagne cork popping. It has been used in several Danish films including Reptilicus
Reptilicus
Reptilicus, a giant monster film about a fictional prehistoric reptile, is a Danish-American co-production, produced by American International Pictures and Saga Studios, and is upon close examination two distinctly different films helmed by two different directors.The original version, which was...

(1961), and Champagnegaloppen
Champagnegaloppen
Champagnegaloppen is a 1938 Danish musical film directed by George Schnéevoigt. The film based on a musical by Hans Christian Lumbye and play by Paul Holck-Hofmann and stars Svend Methling and Valdemar Møller. It is named after the famous light classical piece composed by Hans Christian Lumbye,...

(1938).

Niels W. Gade (1817–1890) participated in the development of Musikforeningen
Musikforeningen
Musikforeningen in Copenhagen was Denmark's most important concert venue in the 19th century. It operated from 1838 to 1931 but it was especially under the leadership of Niels Gade that it became a meeting place for the city's music life with its own symphony orchestra and choir. Carl Nielsen was...

(the Music Society) which had been founded in 1836 with the purpose of extending and improving the understanding of classical music. He became its conductor in 1850, and under his management a number of masterpieces of choral music were given their first performance in Denmark, among them Bach's St. Matthew Passion in 1875. At the conservatory in Copenhagen, Gade helped teach future generations, including Edvard Grieg

Edvard Grieg

Edvard Hagerup Grieg was a Norwegian composer and pianist. He is best known for his Piano Concerto in A minor, for his incidental music to Henrik Ibsen's play Peer Gynt , and for his collection of piano miniatures Lyric Pieces.-Biography:Edvard Hagerup Grieg was born in...

and Carl Nielsen

Carl Nielsen

Carl August Nielsen , , widely recognised as Denmark's greatest composer, was also a conductor and a violinist. Brought up by poor but musically talented parents on the island of Funen, he demonstrated his musical abilities at an early age...

. In the spirit of Romantic nationalism, he composed eight symphonies, a violin concerto, chamber music, organ and piano pieces and a number of large-scale cantatas, among them Elverskud, the most famous Danish work of its kind.

Ballet

Another major contributor to the music scene during the Golden Age was August Bournonville

August Bournonville

(1805–1879), the celebrated ballet master

Ballet Master

Ballet Master is the term used for an employee of a ballet company who is responsible for the level of competence of the dancers in their company...

. From 1830 to 1877, he was the choreographer at the Royal Danish Ballet

Royal Danish Ballet

The Royal Danish Ballet is one of the oldest ballet companies in the world. Based in Copenhagen, Denmark, it originates from 1748, when the Royal Danish Theatre was founded, and was finally organized in 1771 in response to the great popularity of French and Italian styles of dance...

, for which he created more than 50 ballets admired for their exuberance, lightness, and beauty. He created a style which, although influenced by the Paris ballet, is entirely his own. Bournonville's best-known works are La Sylphide
La Sylphide
La Sylphide is one of the world's oldest surviving romantic ballets. There were two versions of the ballet; the version choreographed by the Danish balletmaster August Bournonville is the only version known to have survived....

(1836), Napoli
Napoli (ballet)
Napoli, or The Fisherman and His Bride is a ballet created in 1842 for Denmark's Royal Ballet by Danish choreographer and ballet master August Bournonville. The ballet tells the story of Teresina, a young Italian girl who falls in love with Gennaro, a fisherman. The tale culminates in the marriage...

(1842), Le Conservatoire
Le Conservatoire
Le Conservatoire, or A Marriage by Advertisement is a two-act vaudeville ballet created by the Danish choreographer and ballet master August Bournonville in 1849 for the Royal Danish Ballet. The ballet's setting is a dance studio at the Conservatoire de Paris...

(1849), The Kermesse in Bruges
The Kermesse in Bruges
The Kermesse in Bruges, or The Three Gifts is a burlesque ballet in three acts created in 1851 by the Danish balletmaster and choreographer August Bournonville for the Royal Danish Ballet. The ballet tells the story of three brothers who receive magic gifts from an alchemist. The music is by Holger...

(1851) and A Folk Tale
A Folk Tale (ballet)
A Folk Tale is a ballet in three acts created in 1854 for the Royal Danish Ballet by the Danish balletmaster and choreographer August Bournonville. The music was composed by Johan Peter Emilius Hartmann and Niels W. Gade. Set in the Middle Ages, the ballet tells the story of a changeling living...

(1854). He drew on a number of different composers including Holger Simon Paulli

Holger Simon Paulli

Holger Simon Paulli was a Danish conductor and composer.Paulli was a violin student of Claus Schall. He joined the Royal Danish Orchestra, and became its conductor in 1864. At the same time, he also conducted the Orchestra of the Cecilia Foreningen, and assumed the directorship of the Copenhagen...

and Niels Gade. The ballets are widely performed today, not only in Denmark but worldwide, especially in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

Literature and philosophy

During Denmark's Golden Age, literature centred on Romantic thinking

Romanticism

Romanticism was an artistic, literary and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Europe, and gained strength in reaction to the Industrial Revolution...

. It was introduced in 1802 by the philosopher Henrik Steffens

Henrik Steffens

who gave a successful series of lectures at Elers Kollegium

Elers Kollegium

Elers' Kollegium is located in the medieval part of Copenhagen. The dormitory or society provides living quarters for 20 students from the University of Copenhagen or from the Technical University of Denmark. The dormitory is one of five small dormitories referred to as the old dormitories...

. He presented the main themes of German romanticism

German Romanticism

, emphasising the relationship between nature, history and mankind. The movement was maintained by the romanticists, especially Adam Oehlenschläger (1779–1850). Remembered today for his Digte (1803) and Poetiske Skrifter (1805), Oehlenschläger quickly became the leading poet in Denmark. Bernhard Severin Ingemann

Bernhard Severin Ingemann

(1789–1862) also published a collection of romantic poems before producing first a number of plays, then a successful series of novels and finally a number of fine religious poems which, after being set to music, became an important addition to the hymns sung in Danish churches.
One of the most important figures in Danish literary culture was Nikolaj Grundtvig (1783–1872) who instilled a growing spirit of nationalism based initially on his Northern Mythology (1808) and his long drama, The Fall of the Heroic Life in the North (1809). In addition to a huge stream of articles and poems, he wrote a number of books, including two histories of the world (1814 and 1817), the long historical poem Roskilde-Riim (Rhyme of Roskilde) (1813), and a book-sized commentary, Roskilde Saga. Grundtvig's hymn book brought about a great change in Danish church services, substituting the hymn

Hymn

A hymn is a type of song, usually religious, specifically written for the purpose of praise, adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification...

s of the national poets for the slow measures of the orthodox

Orthodoxy

The word orthodox, from Greek orthos + doxa , is generally used to mean the adherence to accepted norms, more specifically to creeds, especially in religion...

Lutherans. In all Grundtvig wrote or translated about 1,500 hymns, including "God's Word Is Our Great Heritage

God's Word Is Our Great Heritage

God's Word Is Our Great Heritage, is the title of a popular hymn sung in many churches, especially the Lutheran Church. This hymn was inspired by Psalm 16:6: "...yea, I have a goodly heritage." KJV- History :...

", most of which are still frequently sung today.
Hans Christian Andersen

Hans Christian Andersen

(1805–1875) is remembered first and foremost for his fairy tale

Fairy tale

A fairy tale is a type of short story that typically features such folkloric characters, such as fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, dwarves, giants or gnomes, and usually magic or enchantments. However, only a small number of the stories refer to fairies...

s, written between 1835 and 1872 not only for children but for adults too. Among the most popular are "The Steadfast Tin Soldier

The Steadfast Tin Soldier

"The Steadfast Tin Soldier" is a literary fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen about a tin soldier's love for a paper ballerina. After several adventures, the tin soldier perishes in a fire with the ballerina. The tale was first published in Copenhagen by C.A...

", "The Snow Queen

The Snow Queen

The Snow Queen is a fairy tale by author Hans Christian Andersen . The tale was first published in 1845, and centers on the struggle between good and evil as experienced by a little boy and girl, Kai and Gerda....

", "The Little Mermaid

The Little Mermaid

"The Little Mermaid" is a popular fairy tale by the Danish poet and author Hans Christian Andersen about a young mermaid willing to give up her life in the sea and her identity as a mermaid to gain a human soul and the love of a human prince...

", "Thumbelina

Thumbelina

"Thumbelina" is a literary fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen first published by C. A. Reitzel on 16 December 1835 in Copenhagen, Denmark with "The Naughty Boy" and "The Traveling Companion" in the second installment of Fairy Tales Told for Children. "Thumbelina" is about a tiny girl and...

", "The Little Match Girl

The Little Match Girl

The Little Match Girl is a short story by Danish poet and author Hans Christian Andersen. The story is about a dying child's dreams and hope, and was first published in 1845. It has been adapted to various media including animated film, and a television musical.-Plot summary:On a cold New Year’s...

", and "The Ugly Duckling

The Ugly Duckling

"The Ugly Duckling" is a literary fairy tale by Danish poet and author Hans Christian Andersen . The story tells of a homely little bird born in a barnyard who suffers abuse from his neighbors until, much to his delight , he matures into a beautiful swan, the most beautiful bird of all...

". Considered to be the father of the modern fairytale, Andersen wrote a total of 156 fairy stories, only 12 of which drew on folk tales. But Andersen also wrote a number of travel sketches, several novels including the well-received: "The Improvisatore

The Improvisatore

The Improvisatore is an autobiographical novel by Hans Christian Andersen . First published in 1835, it was an immediate success and is considered to be Andersen's breakthrough...

" (1835), a series of poems, and his autobiography "The Fairy Tale of My Life" (1855).

Philosophy

Danish philosophy was dominated in the first half of the 19th century by the influence of Hegel and Hegelianism. Johan Ludvig Heiberg

Johan Ludvig Heiberg

Johan Ludvig Heiberg may refer to:* Johan Ludvig Heiberg , Danish poet and dramatist, husband of Johanne Luise Heiberg* Johan Ludvig Heiberg , Danish philologist and historian of mathematics...

(1791–1860), Frederik Christian Sibbern (1785–1872), and especially Hans Lassen Martensen

Hans Lassen Martensen

Hans Lassen Martensen was a Danish bishop and academic.- Early life :Martensen was born in a middle-class Lutheran family in Flensburg, Duchy of Schleswig , as their only son. At that time Schleswig was a duchy between Holstein and Denmark...

(1803–1884), all of whom contributed to the popularity of Hegel's idealism in various academic disciplines, though Hegel's influence significantly declined by 1850. The primary critic of Hegelianism, and the most important philosopher in Denmark at the time, was Søren Kierkegaard

Søren Kierkegaard

(1813–1855), an existentialist philosopher and a theologian. Much of Kierkegaard's philosophical work deals with the issues of how one lives, focusing on the priority of concrete human reality over abstract thinking and highlighting the importance of personal choice and commitment. His principal aesthetic works include Either/Or

Either/Or

Published in two volumes in 1843, Either/Or is an influential book written by the Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard, exploring the aesthetic and ethical "phases" or "stages" of existence....

(Enten-Eller) (1843), Philosophical Fragments

Philosophical Fragments

Philosophical Fragments was a Christian philosophic work written by Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard in 1844. It was the first of three works written under the pseudonym Johannes Climacus, the other two were Johannes Climacus, 1841 and Concluding Unscientific Postscript to Philosophical...

(Philosophiske Smuler) (1844), Stages on Life's Way

Stages on Life's Way

Stages on Life's Way is a philosophical work by Søren Kierkegaard written in 1845. The book was written as a continuation of Kierkegaard's masterpiece Either/Or...

(Stadier paa Livets Vei) (1845) and Concluding Unscientific Postscript to Philosophical Fragments

Concluding Unscientific Postscript to Philosophical Fragments

Concluding Unscientific Postscript to the Philosophical Fragments is a major work by Søren Kierkegaard. The work is a poignant attack against Hegelianism, the philosophy of G. W. F. Hegel. The work is also famous for its dictum, Subjectivity is Truth...

(Afsluttende uvidenskabelig Efterskrift) (1846). Opposing Hegelian philosophy, they promote the existential approach which raises the individual's awareness of God but intensifies his despair at not being able to achieve eternal truth. His religious works include Works of Love

Works of Love

Works of Love is a work by Søren Kierkegaard written in 1847. It is one of the works which he published under his own name, as opposed to his more famous "pseudonymous" works. Works of Love deals primarily with the Christian conception of love in contrast with erotic love or preferential love ...

(Kjerlighedens Gjerninger) (1847) and Practice in Christianity

Practice in Christianity

Practice in Christianity is a work by 19th century philosopher Søren Kierkegaard. It was published on September 27, 1850 under the pseudonym Anti-Climacus, the author of The Sickness Unto Death. Kierkegaard considered it to be his "most perfect and truest book"...

(Indøvelse i Christendom) (1850). Another important figure in Danish philosophy was Nikolaj Frederik Severin Grundtvig

Nikolaj Frederik Severin Grundtvig

Nikolaj Frederik Severin Grundtvig , most often referred to as simply N. F. S. Grundtvig, was a Danish pastor, author, poet, philosopher, historian, teacher, and politician. He was one of the most influential people in Danish history, as his philosophy gave rise to a new form of nationalism in...

(1784–1872), whose ideas became an important part of the development of Danish national identity.

Science

One name stands out above all others among those who contributed to science during the Danish Golden Age, that of Hans Christian Ørsted

Hans Christian Ørsted

Hans Christian Ørsted was a Danish physicist and chemist who discovered that electric currents create magnetic fields, an important aspect of electromagnetism...

, the prominent physicist

Physics

Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...

and chemist

Chemistry

Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....

known for observing that electric current

Electric current

Electric current is a flow of electric charge through a medium.This charge is typically carried by moving electrons in a conductor such as wire...

s induce magnetic field

Magnetic field

A magnetic field is a mathematical description of the magnetic influence of electric currents and magnetic materials. The magnetic field at any given point is specified by both a direction and a magnitude ; as such it is a vector field.Technically, a magnetic field is a pseudo vector;...

s, an important aspect of electromagnetism

Electromagnetism

Electromagnetism is one of the four fundamental interactions in nature. The other three are the strong interaction, the weak interaction and gravitation...

. He shaped post-Kantian philosophy

Kantianism

Kantianism is the philosophy of Immanuel Kant, a German philosopher born in Königsberg, Prussia . The term Kantianism or Kantian is sometimes also used to describe contemporary positions in philosophy of mind, epistemology, and ethics.-Ethics:Kantian ethics are deontological, revolving entirely...

and advances in science throughout the late 19th century.

In 1824, Ørsted founded Selskabet for Naturlærens Udbredelse (SNU), a society to disseminate knowledge of the natural sciences. He was also the founder of predecessor organizations which eventually became the Danish Meteorological Institute

Danish Meteorological Institute

The Danish Meteorological Institute is the official Danish meteorological institute, administrated by the Ministry of Transport and Energy. The institute makes weather forecasts and observations for Denmark, Greenland, and the Faroe Islands....

and the Danish Patent and Trademark Office

European Patent Organisation

The European Patent Organisation is a public international organisation created in 1977 by its contracting states to grant patents in Europe under the European Patent Convention of 1973...

. Ørsted was the first modern thinker to explicitly describe and name the thought experiment

Thought experiment

A thought experiment or Gedankenexperiment considers some hypothesis, theory, or principle for the purpose of thinking through its consequences...

. He was convinced that all things in the universe were related, both materially and spiritually. He described this in his philosophical work Ånden i naturen (The Spirit in Nature).

Ørsted contributed strongly to the Golden Age, especially through his close friendship with Hans Christian Andersen.

Impact

The leading players in the Danish Golden Age have not only had a lasting impact in Denmark, but throughout the world. Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tales have been translated into over 150 languages, more than any book apart from the Bible, and continue to be read to children everywhere.
With the exception of Ludvig Holberg

Ludvig Holberg

Ludvig Holberg, Baron of Holberg was a writer, essayist, philosopher, historian and playwright born in Bergen, Norway, during the time of the Dano-Norwegian double monarchy, who spent most of his adult life in Denmark. He was influenced by Humanism, the Enlightenment and the Baroque...

, no Danish writer before 1870 exercised so wide an influence as Adam Gottlob Oehlenschläger

Adam Gottlob Oehlenschläger

. His work was to awaken his compatriots' enthusiasm for the poetry and religion of their ancestors, to the extent that his name remains to this day synonymous with Scandinavian romance.

In architecture, when designing the Thorvaldsen Museum, Michael Bindesbøll gave special attention to liberating the building from its surroundings. His free perception of space served as a guiding principle for the cities and buildings of the future.

The choreographer, August Bournonville, resisting many of the excesses of the romantic era ballets, gave equal emphasis to male and female roles in his work at a time when European ballet emphasized the ballerina.

Nikolaj Grundtvig exerted considerable influence on education, promoting a spirit of freedom, poetry and disciplined creativity. Opposing compulsion and examinations, he advocated unleashing human creativity according to the universally creative order of life. A spirit of freedom, cooperation and discovery was to be kindled in individuals, in science, and in society as a whole. Søren Kierkegaard has also strongly influenced philosophy and literature right up to the present day. Among the many who have profited from his ideas are Jean-Paul Sartre

Jean-Paul Sartre

Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre was a French existentialist philosopher, playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and literary critic. He was one of the leading figures in 20th century French philosophy, particularly Marxism, and was one of the key figures in literary...

, Niels Bohr

Niels Bohr

Niels Henrik David Bohr was a Danish physicist who made foundational contributions to understanding atomic structure and quantum mechanics, for which he received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1922. Bohr mentored and collaborated with many of the top physicists of the century at his institute in...

, and W. H. Auden

W. H. Auden

Wystan Hugh Auden , who published as W. H. Auden, was an Anglo-American poet,The first definition of "Anglo-American" in the OED is: "Of, belonging to, or involving both England and America." See also the definition "English in origin or birth, American by settlement or citizenship" in See also...

.

Hans Christian Ørsted's scientific advances contributed fundamentally to chemistry, with his work on aluminium

Aluminium

Aluminium or aluminum is a silvery white member of the boron group of chemical elements. It has the symbol Al, and its atomic number is 13. It is not soluble in water under normal circumstances....

, and especially to physics, with his conclusive research on electromagnetism

Electromagnetism

Electromagnetism is one of the four fundamental interactions in nature. The other three are the strong interaction, the weak interaction and gravitation...

.

Finally, many of the works of the painters and sculptors of the period continue to be exhibited in the world's finest museums and galleries. Some, like Christen Købke, have attracted renewed interest in recent years.

External links

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