Around 1900, the artist couple Agnes Slott-Møller and Harald Slott-Møller articulated a vision of what a modern Denmark should look like. Through ballads, medieval motifs, and powerful national narratives, they turned to the past in order to understand the time in which they themselves lived. The colourful paintings of Agnes and Harald Slott-Møller are populated with figures from folk ballads and historical legends.

The two passionate spirits were described by their contemporaries as “a ravenous joint being.” The story of their lives and artistic work offers insight into two artists who worked both with and against the Danish art scene from 1880 until their deaths in 1937. Agnes and Harald Slott-Møller shared a common political ideology: to strengthen a national identity rooted in history and myth. In their work, art and ideology are inseparably intertwined. In the exhibition, we take both a curious and a critical look at the couple’s engagement with national identity and their understanding of Danish history.