The architect’s dream job
In 1837, Gottlieb Bindesbøll is appointed architect of the future Thorvaldsen’s Museum. He has great ambitions for the building. It should match the quality and the antique references that characterize Thorvaldsen's works - and of course, be to the pleasure and joy of the public.
Museum in the making
Bindesbøll and Thorvaldsen get to know each other in 1834, when Bindesbøll is in Rome. He is fascinated by the colours and idioms of antiquity, and this makes a great impression on Thorvaldsen. They discuss the future museum, and Bindesbøll begins sketching.
See one of the first drafts
Thorvaldsen’s gift
In 1838, Thorvaldsen leaves Rome and returns to Copenhagen. He bequeaths all his artworks and his entire art collection to his native town in a gift deed. The efforts to find the ideal place for the museum are intensified.
The perfect location
In 1839, King Frederik VI offers the old carriage building next to Christiansborg Castle in view of the future museum. Both Bindesbøll and Thorvaldsen see the potential. The king approves Bindesbøll's final drawings, and construction begins.
Antique settings
Following the remodeling of the carriage building, artisans and painters begin decorating the museum.
Using antiquity as a reference, the museum itself becomes a gesamtkunstwerk, and a monument in honor of Thorvaldsen and the arts.
Explore the collection
The museum is inaugurated in 1848 as the first public art museum in Denmark. The exhibition “Sensing Colours. Thorvaldsens Museum” marks the museum’s 175th anniversary.