thorvalden's museum, copenhagen, 1839-1847.
architect: gottlieb bindesbøll, 1800-1856.
reaction to c.f.hansen's ice cool classicism came in the form of one of the most versatile individualists in the history of Danish architecture. he holds the beautifully ironic position of being claimed as one of their own by both the neo-gothicists and the neo-classicists, by traditionalists, modernists and post-modernists alike. a rare honour.
more recent fans have included asplund and kenneth frampton.
bindesbøll's talent was recognized early on and he was in his thirties when awarded the prestigious commission of a museum for thorvaldsen, a successful sculptor returning from a long career in rome.
it was to be the first public museum in denmark and one of the very first contemporary museums in europe in that thorvaldsen was very much alive during the design of the building.
thorvaldsen was a classicist like c.f.hansen and his marble works can be found in hansen's interiors of white and pastel colours. however, bindesbøll who had studied polychrome decoration in ancient architecture for four years in italy and greece had other plans and luckily the old thorvaldsen concurred.
the museum remains bindesbøll's most famous building as his career as a working architect was to last a mere 18 years during which he became architect to the state and, in his final year, professor at the royal academy.
he was the first and finest architect of the young democracy of 1849.
Tags: bindesbøll bindesbøl bindesboll gottlieb gotlieb michael thorvaldsen thorvalsens museum arkitektur architecture architect copenhagen københavn kopenhagen denmark danmark yellow facade blue sky nordic scandinavian scandinavia architektur bygning Arquitectura arquitetura Architectuur Architettura danish dansk arkitekt museo seier+seier creative commons CC
thorvalden's museum, copenhagen, 1839-1847.
architect: gottlieb bindesbøll, 1800-1856.
venus with apple, bertel thorvaldsen, 1770-1844.
detail showing the effect of bindesbøll's idea for lighting thorvaldsen's sculptures: a single light source from the north in a dark room with no reflective surfaces other than the marble itself.
view on black
Tags: bindesbøll bindesbøl bindesboll gottlieb gotlieb michael thorvaldsen thorvalsens museum sculpture nude white marble venus apple danish dansk arkitekt skulptur art arkitektur architecture architect copenhagen københavn kopenhagen denmark danmark interior room light contrast nordic scandinavian scandinavia architektur bygning Arquitectura arquitetura Architectuur Architettura classical classicist neoclassical neoclassicist museo seier+seier creative commons CC
thorvalden's museum, copenhagen, 1839-1847.
architect: gottlieb bindesbøll, 1800-1856.
all the vaults are decorated, but none more poetically than in the dark corridor circumventing the courtyard where thorvaldsen is burried: a starry sky of pure cobalt blue.
Tags: bindesbøll bindesbøl bindesboll gottlieb gotlieb michael thorvaldsen thorvalsens museum arkitektur architecture architect copenhagen københavn kopenhagen denmark danmark interior room light barrel vault nordic scandinavian scandinavia architektur bygning Arquitectura arquitetura Architectuur Architettura danish dansk arkitekt museo seier+seier creative commons CC
thorvalden's museum, copenhagen, 1839-1847.
architect: gottlieb bindesbøll, 1800-1856.
the three graces, bertel thorvaldsen, 1770-1844.
it is only when you contemplate the art of thorvaldsen, that the mastery of the architect, gottlieb bindesbøll, becomes entirely obvious.
bindesbøll created his dark rooms with black window sills and black doorways to ensure that daylight was not reflected off any surface except the statues themselves, thus drawing perfect shadows and rendering every line and every detail perfectly legible.
each room focuses on one work of art and each work of art is given the silence and the light necessary for contemplation.
bindesbøll also contributes to the art works as the rich, dark colours of the stucco walls add sensuality to thorvaldsen's nudes by way of suggestion.
but make no mistake, thorvaldsen was a classical artist. he was looking for balance, not passion. his lions were tame and his women too...yet it is fascinating to see how his best sculptures work equally well from all angles and to see what can be achieved in a work of art when all traces of the process and everything accidental have been removed.
the classical ideal runs contrary to so much of modern art and it can be difficult to approach today. maybe in a small way, we can appreciate thorvaldsen when we learn that byron did not like the busts thorvaldsen did of him. byron felt he looked too content but he had simply gone to the wrong artist. classicists don't do sulky.
had this museum been in berlin or in rome as first imagined, it would have been in all the histories of architecture. instead, it is a quiet corner in copenhagen, itself a quiet corner of europe. I recommend it to all.
related treatment of daylight here.
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Tags: bindesbøll bindesbøl bindesboll gottlieb gotlieb michael thorvaldsen thorvalsens museum sculpture classical nude white marble art three graces arkitektur architecture architect copenhagen københavn kopenhagen denmark danmark interior room light contrast nordic scandinavian scandinavia architektur bygning Arquitectura arquitetura Architectuur Architettura danish dansk arkitekt classicist neoclassical neoclassicist museo seier+seier creative commons CC
thorvalden's museum, copenhagen, 1839-1847.
architect: gottlieb bindesbøll, 1800-1856.
view on black.
the contrast to hansen's classicism couldn't be greater: spaces are dark, window sills and doorways even black.
where light was reflected through layers of white columns and arches in hansen's works to become even and shadowless - indeed a treatment of light which was to become a stable of nordic architecture - here, the treatment appears consciously primitive.
as we shall see, bindesbøll was making a point...
Tags: bindesbøll bindesbøl bindesboll gottlieb gotlieb michael thorvaldsen thorvalsens museum arkitektur architecture architect copenhagen københavn kopenhagen denmark danmark interior room light contrast nordic scandinavian scandinavia architektur bygning Arquitectura arquitetura Architectuur Architettura danish dansk arkitekt museo seier+seier creative commons CC