19 / 76
2 0 /1 9 6 9 E t a f d e sm å tå r n e p å F r e d e rik s b o rg S lo t
C h r is te n K ø b k e , D a n m a r k o m k r in g 1834
O lie p å læ rre d . H :2 5 ,5 B :1 8 ,5 u d e n r a m m e
I e t a f d e m e s t v e lb e v a re d e e m p ir e r u m i D a v id s
S a m lin g k a n m a n se e k s e m p le r p å s a m tid e n s m ø
b e lk u n s t sid e o m sid e m e d m a le rie r fra d e n p e r io
d e , s o m m a n i d a n s k k u n s th is to r ie h a r k a ld t fo r
» g u ld a ld e re n « (fig. 4). E t a f b ille d e rn e e r m a le t a f
C h r is te n K ø b k e , h v is k o r te , m e n k u n s tn e r is k
f r u g tb a r e , liv (1 8 1 0 -4 8 ) i tid s m æ s s ig u d s tr æ k n in g
s v a re r til g u ld a ld e re n s .
I b e g y n d e ls e n a f 1 8 3 0 ’e rn e , h v o r k ø b e n h a v n e
r e n K ø b k e k u n n e b o h o s e n s ø s te r o g s v o g e r i
H ille r ø d , m a le d e h a n e n ræ k k e b ille d e r fra F re d e
r ik s b o r g S lo t. A f s to r b e ty d n in g v a r s a m v æ re t
m e d k u n s th is to r ik e r e n N . L . H ø y e n (1 7 9 8 -1 8 7 0 ),
s o m p å d e tte t id s p u n k t v a r v e d a t k a ta lo g is e re
s lo tte ts p o r tr æ ts a m lin g . H ø y e n s le v e n d e in te re s s e
f o r D a n m a r k s h is to r ie o g la n d e ts a r k ite k tu r fra
m id d e la ld e r o g re n æ s s a n c e h a r v ir k e t s m itte n d e p å
K ø b k e så v e l s o m p å e n r æ k k e a f d e y n g r e k u n s t
n e re .
D e n sik re k o m p o s itio n , sp ire n e s m o d e lle r in g i
ly s o g s k y g g e o g g e n g iv e ls e n a f la n d s k a b e ts k o n
tu r e r s v a g t o p lø s te i d e t s tæ rk e s o ls k in v id n e r o m
in d fly d e ls e fra læ re re n C . W . E c k e r s b e r g (1 7 8 3 -
1853 ).
S y n te s e n a f E c k e r s b e rg s n a tu ra lis m e o g in te r e s
se f o r p e r s p e k tiv e t s a m t H ø y e n s b e g e js trin g fo r
d e t d a n s k e la n d s k a b o g d e n n a tio n a le k u ltu r e r h o s
K ø b k e b le v e t til s to r k u n s t d e t lille f o r m a t tiltr o d s .
20/Í969 “One of the small towers on Frederiksborg
Castle”
Christen Købke, Denmark, about 1834
Oils on canvas. H:25.5 W:18.5 without frame
In one of the best preserved Empire rooms in the David
Collection it is possible to see examples of contemporary
furniture side by side with paintings of the period in
Danish art history known as “the Golden Age”
(Fig. 4). One of the pictures is by Christen Købke,
whose short but artistically fruitful life (1810-1848)
covered the same period as the Golden Age.
At the beginning of the 1830s, when Købke, a Co
penhagener, was able to stay with a sister and brother-
in-law in Hillerød, he painted a number of pictures of
Frederiksborg Castle. O f great importance to him was
his association with the art historian Niels Lauritz
Høyen (1798-1870), who at this time was cataloguing
the Castle’s portrait collection. Høyen’s active interest
in Danish history and the country’s mediaeval and Re
naissance architecture had a strong influence on Købke
and on a number of the younger artists of the day.
The confident composition, the modelling of the
spires in light and shadow and the representation of the
contours of the landscape softly dissolved in the bright
sunlight bear witness to influence from his teacher,
Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg (1783-1853).
The synthesis of Eckersberg’s naturalism and interest
in perspective in conjunction with Høyen’s delight in
the Danish countryside and national culture have re
sulted here in great art - despite the modesty of the
format.
16