As you know, this year I’m trying to visit at least one museum a month - Copenhagen has such a great variety of museums that it would be a shame not to take advantage of it! Last week, my mom was visiting, so I took a day off to spend with her. We chose to start our day at Statens Museum for Kunst, the national gallery of Denmark. We arrived there at 11am, just before opening, but since it was a weekday, we were met by huge crowds of school classes. I didn’t mind the little ones, but the moody, selfie-taking, too-cool-for-school teenagers were a bit annoying, I have to say. But the museum is big, so people spread out quickly, and we were mostly able to navigate away from the kids.
SMK is part of the “Park Museums” (see here), six museums that are located within a five minutes walk from one another. If you’re a total museum geek, you can buy a ticket to all six of them! The ticket costs DKK 195 and grants you one-time admission to each one of the museums, and it’s valid for an entire year.
Similar to the Glypotek, Statens Museum for Kunst also chose to offset the artwork with boldly colored walls. Together with the overhead windows, this makes for an impressive atmosphere. The permanent exhibition is separated into four parts based on geography and time: European Art 1300-1900, Danish and Nordic art 1750-1900, French art 1900-1930, and Danish and International Art post 1900.
We chose to follow the exhibition chronologically, starting with the oldest art.
In all rooms, you’ll find benches or chairs that invite you to sit and take in the artwork.
There are two bridges, connecting the old building with the modern annex, and the architecture is just spectacular! In the annex, you’ll find Danish and international art post 1900. The modern art portion of the permanent exhibit is definitely more sculpture-heavy than the classic one.
Heading back over the other bridge, we entered the Danish wing, which displays paintings, sculptures, and drawings made by Danish artists.
I especially loved this painting called “In a Roman Osteria” by Danish painter Carl Bloch - I love the two girls’ expressions!
Life goals: Get such a portrait of myself!
SMK is a great museum, and even greater: admission to the permanent exhibit is free! I’ll be coming back, but will pay attention to come in the afternoon, where there’s less of a chance of running into hoards of teenagers. Have you been to SMK? Share your impressions in the comments!
Find more Museum Monthly posts here!
Statens Museum for Kunst (SMK) | Sølvgade 48-50, 1307 Copenhagen | Tues-Sun 11-17 (Wed 11-20) | free admission (special exhibits around DKK 110) | smk.dk
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