Museums of fine art

In the Danish Golden Age, an era of outstanding achievement in the first half of the 19th century, European Neoclassicism and Romanticism found a Danish expression, with concepts such as the Skagen and Funen Schools evolving out of some of the finest landscape painting, while prominent Danish members of the European COBRA group such as Asger Jorn took their inspiration from the artistry of their Viking forebears.

From COBRA to the Golden Age

The market towns often contain high-quality art museums. Here visitors can encounter the provocative art of people such as Michael Kvium, Bjørn Nørgaard and Christian Lemmerz, as well as Danish COBRA artists, Asger Jorn, Henry Heerup, Carl-Henning Pedersen and Ejler Bille, all of whom are well represented at the museums of art in Jutland. Golden Age masters such as Eckersberg and Hammershøi are also represented there.

A selection of museums in Denmark:

ARKEN - museum of modern art. 
ARoS Art Musem is Denmark's largest art collection outside Copenhagen. 
Heerup Museum covers paintings, graphic arts, drawings and sculptures of more than 70 years of artistic production. 
Louisiana - museum of modern art 
Silkeborg Art Museum features the main proponent of the COBRA group. 
Skagens Museum presents P.S. Krøyer and other members of the Skagen School. 
Statens Museum for Kunst (The National Gallery) in Copenhagen contains collections representing Danish and international art from the 14th century to the present day. 
Thorvaldsens Museum contains more than 500 works from the famous sculptor divided among sculptures, reliefs, portrait busts and sketches.

Relevant links:
Promotion website for the awareness of Copenhagen as a classical city of culture Golden Days in Copenhagen

The National Database on Art in Danish Museums (KID) contains information about works of art in Danish museums and collections. The database has information about more then 40,000 artworks, by c. 6,200 artists, distributed on about 64 institutions.
The National Database on Art in Danish Museums

Danish Museums Online is the first step towards creating a virtual museum that covers all of Denmark. The website takes you right inside each of the museums and encourages you to search for a subject that interests you - or something that you didn't know could be found in the Danish museums. You can search for particular subject areas and for practical information about the individual museums. Danish Museums Online

Art housed in fine buildings

The buildings that house the museums are often attractions in their own right, whether they are castles or manor houses or distinctive expressions of modern architecture. The modern architecture is represented in the following museums:

Arken Museum of Modern Art
The Bornholm Museum of Art
The Louisiana Museum of Modern Art
North Jutland Museum of Art
Trapholt Museum of Art

Other museums were designed by fine artists. The painter Per Kirkeby designed the ground plan in the shape of Thor’s Hammer for the new museum complex in Aars in northern Jutland, and just a century ago, the painter J.F. Willumsen designed the premises of Den Frie Udstilling, drawing on a daring blend of Art Nouveau, Classical and Asian styles.

Museums with free admission

Generally speaking, Danish museums charge an entrance fee. However, a few museums and collections have found means to offer free admission once a week, normally on wednesdays. However Statens Museum for Kunst and Nationalmuseet (both in Copenhagen) have free admission all week.

Find a list of the museums here.