Øregård Museum
Encyclopedia
Øregård Museum is an art museum located in Hellerup
in the northern outskirts of Copenhagen
, Denmark
. It is owned by Gentofte Municipality and holds a topographic collection of pictures from Copenhagen and the area north of the city. It also hosts special exhibitions. The building is a former country house built by a wealthy merchant, active in the triangle trade on the Danish West Indies
.
and the former Danish West Indies
.
Like many of his contemporaries in trade and shipping, Søbøtker became a very wealthy member of an emerging bourgeoisie
which was becoming a major force in the 19th century and was acquiring the habits that had previously been reserved for the aristocracy. Over recent decades, it had become common for people to build stately summer residences north of the city while spending winters in a town mansion in Copenhagen. In 1806, Søbøtker acquired a farm, Øregaard, in Hellerup
and commissioned the French architect Joseph-Jacques Ramée
to build a suitable country house on the property. Ramée was at that time working out of Hamburg
but designed a number of similar houses in the same area for other wealthy families, including Sophienholm
for Constantin Brun
and Hellerupgård.
The resulting building was a simple, white-washed Neoclassical
building, typical of Ramée's work around that time. Ramée also designed the surrounding park which was laid out in English style
as a Romantic landscape garden
with an artificial lake and grotto.
Søbøtker maintained an extravagant lifestyle and in the same time the meegre times which followed the English Wars
and the national bankruptcy in 1813 hit his business enterprises hard. In 1821 he had to sell Øregård, and moved to the Danish West Indies where he settled on his estate on Saint Croix
and later became governor of Saint John
and Saint Thomas
.
Øregård came under new ownership and was converted into a museum and was ultimately acquired by Gentofte Municipality in 1917 and converted into a museum. The park was carefully renovated by Gudmund Nyeland Brandt
, municipal gardener and later parks director in Hentofte from 1914 to 1841, and was converted into a public park.
, Denmark's largest publishing house, and a passionate art collector. After his death, his widow, Julie Hoel, bequeathed most of the collection to Gentofte Municipality. They moved it to Øregård which opened to the public in 1821.
The museum also hosts two to three special exhibitions a year and arranges a variety of events. The special exhibitions cover both older and more modern art. There is a special tradition for presenting retrospective exhibitions with artists who were underrated, or experienced adversity, in their own day. Examples have been Elisabeth Jerichau-Baumann
, Bertha Wegmann, Marie Krøyer, Hugo Larsen, Paul Fischer
and Svend Hammershøi. Other exhibitions relate to the history of the building, including the Danish West Indies, or to the surrounding area.
Hellerup
Hellerup is a Danish town of Region Hovedstaden, located in the Gentofte Municipality in Denmark. It is bordered to the east by the sound Øresund and to the South by Copenhagen and counted among the most affluent areas in Denmark....
in the northern outskirts of Copenhagen
Copenhagen
Copenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
, 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...
. It is owned by Gentofte Municipality and holds a topographic collection of pictures from Copenhagen and the area north of the city. It also hosts special exhibitions. The building is a former country house built by a wealthy merchant, active in the triangle trade on the Danish West Indies
Danish West Indies
The Danish West Indies or "Danish Antilles", were a colony of Denmark-Norway and later Denmark in the Caribbean. They were sold to the United States in 1916 in the Treaty of the Danish West Indies and became the United States Virgin Islands in 1917...
.
History and architecture
Øregård is a former country house built by Johannes[Søbøtker, a merchant, plantation owner and shipping agent who was a partner in one of Denmark's largest trading companies and had made a fortune in sugar plantations, shipping and the lucrative triangle trade between Denmark, Danish Gold CoastDanish Gold Coast
The Danish Gold Coast was a part of the Gold Coast , which is on the West African Gulf of Guinea...
and the former Danish West Indies
Danish West Indies
The Danish West Indies or "Danish Antilles", were a colony of Denmark-Norway and later Denmark in the Caribbean. They were sold to the United States in 1916 in the Treaty of the Danish West Indies and became the United States Virgin Islands in 1917...
.
Like many of his contemporaries in trade and shipping, Søbøtker became a very wealthy member of an emerging bourgeoisie
Bourgeoisie
In sociology and political science, bourgeoisie describes a range of groups across history. In the Western world, between the late 18th century and the present day, the bourgeoisie is a social class "characterized by their ownership of capital and their related culture." A member of the...
which was becoming a major force in the 19th century and was acquiring the habits that had previously been reserved for the aristocracy. Over recent decades, it had become common for people to build stately summer residences north of the city while spending winters in a town mansion in Copenhagen. In 1806, Søbøtker acquired a farm, Øregaard, in Hellerup
Hellerup
Hellerup is a Danish town of Region Hovedstaden, located in the Gentofte Municipality in Denmark. It is bordered to the east by the sound Øresund and to the South by Copenhagen and counted among the most affluent areas in Denmark....
and commissioned the French architect Joseph-Jacques Ramée
Joseph-Jacques Ramée
Joseph-Jacques Ramée var a French architect, interior designer, and landscape architect working within the neoclassicist idiom. In his lifetime, he worked in France, Denmark, Germany, Belgium, and the USA...
to build a suitable country house on the property. Ramée was at that time working out of Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
but designed a number of similar houses in the same area for other wealthy families, including Sophienholm
Sophienholm
Sophienholm is a former country house and exhibition venue located north on the shore of Lake Bagsværd in Lyngby-Taarbæk Municipality in the northern outskirts of Copenhagen, Denmark....
for Constantin Brun
Constantin Brun
Johan Christian Constantin Brun was a German-Danish. Born in Germany, came to Denmark as Royal administrator of the trade on the Danish West Indies and in the same time built a successful private trading empire during the early Napoleonic Wars of the late 18th century, profiting on Denmark's...
and Hellerupgård.
The resulting building was a simple, white-washed Neoclassical
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...
building, typical of Ramée's work around that time. Ramée also designed the surrounding park which was laid out in English style
English garden
The English garden, also called English landscape park , is a style of Landscape garden which emerged in England in the early 18th century, and spread across Europe, replacing the more formal, symmetrical Garden à la française of the 17th century as the principal gardening style of Europe. The...
as a Romantic landscape garden
Landscape garden
The term landscape garden is often used to describe the English garden design style characteristic of the eighteenth century, that swept the Continent replacing the formal Renaissance garden and Garden à la française models. The work of Lancelot 'Capability' Brown is particularly influential.The...
with an artificial lake and grotto.
Søbøtker maintained an extravagant lifestyle and in the same time the meegre times which followed the English Wars
English Wars (Scandinavia)
The English Wars were a series of conflicts between Sweden and Denmark-Norway as part of the Napoleonic Wars. It is named after the most prominent region of its other main participant, the United Kingdom, which declared war on Denmark-Norway due to disagreements over the neutrality of Danish trade...
and the national bankruptcy in 1813 hit his business enterprises hard. In 1821 he had to sell Øregård, and moved to the Danish West Indies where he settled on his estate on Saint Croix
Saint Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands
Saint Croix is an island in the Caribbean Sea, and a county and constituent district of the United States Virgin Islands , an unincorporated territory of the United States. Formerly the Danish West Indies, they were sold to the United States by Denmark in the Treaty of the Danish West Indies of...
and later became governor of Saint John
Saint John, U.S. Virgin Islands
Saint John is an island in the Caribbean Sea and a constituent district of the United States Virgin Islands , an unincorporated territory of the United States. St...
and Saint Thomas
Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands
Saint Thomas is an island in the Caribbean Sea and with the islands of Saint John, Saint Croix, and Water Island a county and constituent district of the United States Virgin Islands , an unincorporated territory of the United States. Located on the island is the territorial capital and port of...
.
Øregård came under new ownership and was converted into a museum and was ultimately acquired by Gentofte Municipality in 1917 and converted into a museum. The park was carefully renovated by Gudmund Nyeland Brandt
Gudmund Nyeland Brandt
Gudmund Nyeland Brandt was a Danish landscape architect who was internationally renowned.-Career:...
, municipal gardener and later parks director in Hentofte from 1914 to 1841, and was converted into a public park.
Collections and exhibitions
Øregård Museum holds a large topographic collection of around 3,000 pictures—oil paintings, watercolours, engravings and drawings—which depict Copenhagen and the area of the city. The collection covers the period from 1750 to 1930 and contains works by both famous and not-so-famous artists. A large part of the collection came from the private collection of Jacob Hegel (1851–1918). He was managing director of GyldendalGyldendal
Gyldendal may refer to:*Gyldendal, a Danish publishing house*Gyldendal Norsk Forlag, a Norwegian publishing house founded as a demerger from the Danish one*Søren Gyldendal, the founder of the Danish publishing house...
, Denmark's largest publishing house, and a passionate art collector. After his death, his widow, Julie Hoel, bequeathed most of the collection to Gentofte Municipality. They moved it to Øregård which opened to the public in 1821.
The museum also hosts two to three special exhibitions a year and arranges a variety of events. The special exhibitions cover both older and more modern art. There is a special tradition for presenting retrospective exhibitions with artists who were underrated, or experienced adversity, in their own day. Examples have been Elisabeth Jerichau-Baumann
Elisabeth Jerichau-Baumann
Anna Maria Elisabeth Lisinska Jerichau-Baumann was a Polish-born Danish painter. She was married to the sculptor Jens Adolf Jerichau.-Early life and career:...
, Bertha Wegmann, Marie Krøyer, Hugo Larsen, Paul Fischer
Paul Gustave Fischer
Paul Gustave Fischer was a Danish painter.Paul Fischer belongs to the fourth generation of Fischers to live in Denmark. This Jewish family originally came from Poland...
and Svend Hammershøi. Other exhibitions relate to the history of the building, including the Danish West Indies, or to the surrounding area.