6. Collecting Dutch and Flemish Paintings in 18th-c Denmark
Michael North
The history of collecting at the Danish court by the King and his relatives in the late 16th and 17th centuries has been intensively researched,1 but despite some excellent publications in the field, a thorough overview of the collections of the nobility and wealthy citizens of the time still needs to be written.2 The situation for the 18th century is less studied. Many castles of the nobility in Denmark, but also those of their family members abroad, contain or may contain a wealth of Netherlandish paintings, including both high and low art, that need to be researched in the years to come. Little or nothing is known about the provenance of such works, the facts of their acquisition, their successive owners, their function within a specific collection and the history of their restorations.
The larger part of this contribution is a translated and illustrated version of a chapter in my publication Gerhard Morell und die Entstehung einer Sammlungskultur im Ostseeraum des 18. Jahrhunderts of 2012. I thank the editors for identifying many of the paintings.
Cover image
and Pieter van der Werff Adriaen van der Werff
Adam and Eve reproved by God (Genesis 3:8-9), dated 1717
Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum, inv./cat.nr. SK-A-4918