"A good portrait gives you this sense of presence of another person" ~ Mette Skougaard.
Group portrait of HM Queen Margrethe II, her son crown prince Frederick and his eldest son Christian commissioned to the museum at the occasion of the Queens 40th jubilee as a Danish ruler in 2012. By Niels Stroebek .
Portrait of former prime minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen, who also has been General Secretary of NATO, made by Thomas Kluge, Danish neo realist painter
Gustav Pilo’s portrait of Frederik V shows the king almost floating in the sky as an earthly god
Gertner depicting Danish prime minister D G Monrad receiving a telegram from London that the peace negotiations during the war with Prussia in 1864 had broken down. He emigrated with his family to New Zealand following this.
The family of Mr. Willem van den Kerckhoven (1607–1686) and Reijmerick de Jonge, by Jan Mijtens (ca 1652/1655)
This commissioned portrait of the Danish royal family, by Thomas Kluge, caused a great deal of controversy, with people calling it creepy and sinister. This is not part of the Museum's collection.
The Audience Hall at Frederiksborg , which was created as a total glorification of the absolute monarchs. In the largest portrait you see Christian V as a roman emperor
The Museum of National History at Frederiksborg Castle near Copenhagen. It was build by the Danish king Christian 4 in the beginning of the 17th century
One of the most notable Danish portrait painters of the late 18th century was Jens Juel, famous for this portrait of a princess from 1787
Portrait of king Frederik IV by 19th century painter C W Eckersberg. The King is dressed in a uniform standing by a table with documents, the king is now shown as the principal servant of the bureaucratic state
A portrait by one of Eckersberg's students, typical of the decades of realism introduced in the 19th century. This is the last absolute monarch in Denmark Christian VIII, painted in an even more downplayed style
In the 20th century modernism in art challenged the 19th century concept of realism. An example of a modernist portrait is Henry Heerups portrait of actress and singer Liva Weel from 1945
Mette Skougaard is in New Zealand to judge the Adam Portraiture Award.
She tells Lynn Freeman portraits are a fascinating way to connect with figures from the past:
Mette Skougaard is the director of Denmark's Museum of National History and National Portrait Gallery – which is situated in the remarkable Frederiskborg Castle – the largest renaissance castle in Scandanavia. It was built in the early 17th century as a royal residence for King Christian IV of Denmark and Norway.
The museum houses, alongside other works, the largest collection of portraits in Denmark – including paintings, busts, reliefs and portrait photography. Among the most prized portraits are those depicting Denmarks royal family over the centuries – which also reflect the family's changing role in society.
