Exhibition

ICONIC – Into History

From 10 October
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Seven works. Seven windows into Denmark’s history.

On 10 October, Frederiksborg opens ICONIC – Into History: a new approach to our vast collection, where seven selected works act as windows onto the centuries, people, and ideas that have shaped Denmark. These works are iconic because they embody defining epochs in the nation’s history.

The exhibition is inspired by the British Museum’s gateway objects principle: a single object in each space is highlighted with a special curatorial angle as an entry point to everything surrounding it. You encounter the works through text, sound, and interaction.

The 19th century: History takes shape on canvas

In one of Frederiksborg’s best-known history paintings, the conspirators ride from the murder of King Erik Glipping at Finderup Barn. In ICONIC, the painting becomes a window onto the 19th century’s history painting – a fervent era of national romanticism, where great events were shaped on canvas.

From Frederiksborg’s history paintings spring visualisations of Denmark’s past: the murder of Erik Glipping, the coronation of Christian IV, and the Homage in front of the Copenhagen Stock Exchange.

Two further history paintings are featured in ICONIC: The Constituent Assembly (1860–64) and Denmark 2009. The former shows the transition from absolutism to democracy, while Peter Carlsen sharply depicts a nation in moral decline. In ICONIC, Carlsen himself reflects on his painting, while rhetorician Nadja Pass has created a dialogue-based interpretation of constitution and democracy for The Constituent Assembly.

Woman of power: Birgitte Gøye and Christian IV in lace

Birgitte Gøye – yes, the same one who, according to a Danish children’s rhyme, “got ink in her eye” – gazes out from the 16th-century collection in the King’s Wing. The portrait is iconic because it represents a distinct portrait style and because Gøye, as one of the most influential women of her time, opens stories of gender, wealth, religion, and power.

Dressed in snow-white lace and black silk – some of the most expensive attire one could wear in 1615 – Pieter Isaacsz’s portrait of Christian IV, pearl in ear, represents an era marked by seafaring, trade, and royal display. In ICONIC, the portrait becomes a window into the many facets of the king: he emptied the state treasury, his mother financed many of his building projects, and more witches were burned during his reign than in any other period of Danish history.

Astrophysics and the Universe

One of Frederiksborg’s most spectacular objects, the Gottorp Globe, has been restored for the opening of ICONIC. Its ingenious mechanism once again functions, and the planetary gods inside the great globe move around the sun – a vivid image of the heliocentric world view that gained ground in the 16th and 17th centuries.

In ICONIC, master watchmaker Rune Bakkendorff speaks about the mechanics, astrophysicist Anja Cetti Andersen about the universe, and philosopher Joachim Wiewiura poses the great questions: What is space? And what is humanity’s place within it? Composer Rasmus Zwicki creates the soundscape – all in the globe’s very own tower room.

The Temple of Fortune

A mysterious architecture and a host of strange figures. The Temple of Fortune is a chimneypiece – a very special one – now brought into the light. Fates stream forth. Who are they, where have they been, and where are they going?

Abildgaard’s painting is a satirical critique of society. He presents a cross-section of the fates and agendas that characterised court and social life in 18th-century Denmark – yet another window onto the turbulent 1700s.

(The image shown is a detail.)