Christen Købke: Danish Master of Light

This is the first exhibition outside Denmark to focus on the paintings of Christen Købke (1810–1848). Emphasising his exquisite originality and experimental outlook, the exhibition focuses on the most innovative aspects of his work – including outdoor sketching, his fascination with painterly immediacy, and treatment of light and atmosphere.

The exhibition features around 40 of Købke’s most celebrated works, spanning a variety of genres. Works include landscapes, portraits of many of his family and closest friends, and depictions of Danish national monuments using his charming and unusual sense of perspective. http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/server.php?show=ConMediaFile.14648

About the artist

Købke was a pre-eminent painter in his country and arguably one of the greatest talents of Denmark’s Golden Age. With the exception of one journey to Italy, he spent almost his entire life in and around the Citadel in Copenhagen, where he found the principal themes of his art.

Købke’s work demonstrates his ability to endow ordinary people and places and simple motifs with a universal significance, creating a world in microcosm for the viewer.

The exhibition is organised with the National Galleries of Scotland, Edinburgh, where it will follow from 4 July–3 October 2010.

Christen Kobke
Danish Master of Light