In the heart of Copenhagen lies the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek. The museum was founded by the owner of the Carlsberg Breweries, Carl Jacobsen (1842-1914) one of the 19th century’s great industrial magnates and patrons of the arts.
The brewer was a passionate collector. In exchange for the revenue from the sale of beer he created a collection of art and cultural artefacts of the highest quality, in the largest private art collection in Scandinavia. He bequeathed his entire collection to the Danish nation and built the Ny Car lsberg Glyptotek
to house it. The museum has been open to the public since 1897, and today the Glyptotek holds over 10,000 works divided between an ancient and a modern collection.
The architecture of the museum is also unparalleled in Denmark. Today the Glyptotek consists of four buildings, of which the architect Vilhelm Dahlerup designed the first, which was opened in 1897. He was also responsible for the museum’s Winter Garden (1906). That same year architect Hack Kampmann’s
building – which houses Carl Jacobsen’s collection of antiquities – was inaugurated. Most recently, in 1996, the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek was augmented by the addition of a new building, designed by the architect Henning Larsen, to house the collection of French pain ting, and 2006 saw the opening of an extensive, new display area with an introduction to the cultural history and development of the ancient Mediterranean civilisations.
At the Glyptotek one can gain an insight into the cultures of ancient Greece, Rome and Etruria, where Europe has the roots of its art, its history of ideas and politics. Follow the journey of mankind through 6000 years from the early empires of ancient Egypt and the Middle East all the way to Greece and
the Roman Empire. Visitors will find the Glyptotek’s impressive collection of
antiquities from ancient Tuscany – the historical land of the Etruscans.
World - renowned Greek and Roman sculptures, together with mummies and tomb discoveries from ancient Egypt can be seen in the museum’s superlative galleries.
The Glyptotek also houses Denmark’s largest collection of French 19 C and Impressionist art. Here one can experience works by such artists as Manet, Monet, Degas, Sisley and also van Gogh, Cézanne and Rodin concluding with Picasso. Of particular note is the collec tion of works by Paul Gauguin, which is one of the most magnificent in the world. The great masters of Danish Golden Age painting are represented at the Glyptotek, the collection of which includes work by Eckersberg, Købke and Lundbye, Freund, Jerichau and During daytime the museum is lit by natural light. The evening illumination adds an extra dimension to the visit. The Glyptotek acquires a different sort of intimacy, and what is already a magical building truly comes into its own when the collection’s gods, heroes and human beings are illuminated.
All the year round visitors can experience special temporary exhibitions, concerts, events and guided tours around the various collections.
