Statue inside Statens Museum for Kunst.

Statens Museum for Kunst

Top choice in Copenhagen


Denmark's National Gallery straddles two contrasting, interconnected buildings: a late-19th-century 'palazzo' and a sharply minimalist extension. The museum houses medieval and Renaissance works and impressive collections of Dutch and Flemish artists, including Rubens, Breughel and Rembrandt. It claims the world's finest collection of 19th-century Danish 'Golden Age' artists, among them Eckersberg and Hammershøi, foreign greats like Matisse and Picasso, and modern Danish heavyweights including Per Kirkeby.

Among the contemporary stars are Danish/Norwegian duo Elmgreen and Dragset and Vietnamese-born Danish artist Danh Vo. The latter co-designed the museum's light-filled, organic cafe, Kafeteria.

Statens Museum for Kunst also claims an extensive collection of drawings, engravings and lithographs representing the works of such prominent artists as Degas and Toulouse-Lautrec.

Check the website for upcoming temporary exhibitions.


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