The forgotten artists of the Danish golden age get their own special exhibition at Brundlund castle and art museum

Nothing symbolises Danish golden age paintings like rolling landscapes, lush beech groves and blue skies. It is the epitome of Denmark. At least, that is the story we are told about Danish golden age art.

However, the golden age was also a time of strife crowned by two Schleswig wars and intense struggles to define what it was to be Danish. On the one – very familiar – side, are the iconic green beeches reflecting an art education in Denmark. On the other side are border-crossing, European-minded artists with an international network, visions and motifs that were heavily influenced by German art education.

The exhibition Shrouded in Defeat – The Forgotten Artists of the Golden Age, is the first unifying exhibition featuring the cosmopolitans, their works, and not least, their fate in Danish art history. It features the dark counterpoint of the Danish golden age – a story that was considered disgraceful, anti-Danish and undesirable.

The cosmopolitans sought out foreign art centers to improve their skills or simply make a living, but the price was steep. It cost them their place in Danish art history. In the new exhibition, Elisabeth Jerichau Baumann, Niels Simonsen and Louis Gurlitt finally get their well-deserved accolades.