Collection

The Skovgaard Museum’s current exhibitions offer a comprehensive insight into the art of the Skovgaard family and their significance in Danish art history, from the Golden Age to the Modern Breakthrough. At the heart of the exhibitions are the landscape paintings of P.C. Skovgaard, where nature unfolds as a national narrative shaped by beech forests, coastlines and rolling hills – landscapes that reflect identity, history and a sense of belonging.

The exhibitions explore how plein-air painting, natural science and history merge in art through detailed studies of plants, light, weather and traces of the past embedded in the landscape. They also trace the shift from the idealised visions of the Golden Age to a more sensuous and realistic approach to art.

This artistic development continues with P.C. Skovgaard’s children – Joakim, Niels and Susette Skovgaard – who, around the time of the Modern Breakthrough, challenged traditional motifs, styles and materials. Their work ranges from painting and graphic art to ceramics and monumental decorations, shaped by travel, international influences and experimental approaches to arts and crafts inspired by movements such as Arts and Crafts and Art Nouveau.

A key focal point is Joakim Skovgaard’s monumental decoration of Viborg Cathedral. Through sketches, studies and models, the exhibitions provide insight into the extensive artistic process behind one of the largest unified works of art in the Nordic region – the very foundation of the Skovgaard Museum’s collection.