The Queen

As Frederiksborg Castle is a royal palace it shouldn't come as a surprise that portraits of the queen, the royal consort and the rest of the family are very much in evidence here. These two portraits of the queen show her very different sides; the official one as seen on the coins and the more human side, that also is very clearly a part of her.

More Portraits

The last time I went to Frederiksberg Castle they had an exhibition of photographic portraits beside the painted ones. That's a great way to get inspired for a photographer, even if the inspiration goes along the lines of "I wouldn't do it like that".

Portrait of Karen Blixen

Also portraits of Danes who made a difference are numerous at Frederiksberg Castle. The newer ones clearly show how much art has moved during time. This one is of Karen Blixen, better known outside of Denmark by her pseudonym of Isak Dinesen.

The Tradition of the Historic Painting

The museum at Frederiksborg Castle has a long tradition of commissioning historic paintings of the high points of Danish history. And that is a tradition they still follow as is seen with this painting of a, to Danes, well-known incident during the war in the former Yugoslavia.

Big Head

This bust was on display at the art museum at Frederiksborg Castle. I'm not sure who it was, but I hope some kind of artistic creativity has been used in its design:-)

A Modern View

Frederiksborg Castle is not only a place for old stuff, but also has a floor of modern art, mainly paintings and photos. In these rooms there's also changing exhibitions, so there's always something new to see here.

Bling

I guess bling isn't a new thing, as this photo of one of the chandeliers at Frederiksborg Castle testifies to. They had just as big a craving for something shiny in the renaissance as we do today.

The Yellow Room

Some of the rooms at Frederiksborg Castle are packed with so many items that that they seem on the edge of bursting. There's not room for much more on the walls of the yellow room.

A Trick of the Eye

This piece of furniture from Frederiksborg Castle contains quite a surprise; a room that is painted to seem like a large hall.

The Age of Enlightenment

The renaissance was an age of enlightenment and the renaissance castle of Frederiksborg Castle reflects this in some of the exhibited objects. Here an astrolabe is on display.

A Knight in Armor

A true castle needs knights, and as I've told you in a previous post, Frederiksborg Castle got their shields in great numbers, but got a few of these; a knights armor.

A Royal Bed

Some of the rooms at Frederiksborg Castle still has the old furniture from the time when the castle was used by the King of Denmark. This bed has the right royal feeling to it.

Glass

As Frederiksborg Castle is a museum it's also teeming with objects of all kinds, so that the Castle in places seems to be frozen in the renaissance.

Agnus Dei

Frederiksborg Castle is a true renaissance castle; there's details everywhere. Just look up and you can see, that every ceiling is covered with stucco, wood carvings or paintings. Here it's the Agnus Dei, the Lamb of God, the heraldic symbol for Gotland, which between 1361 and 1645 was Danish.

Dusty

A museum is supposed to be a bit dusty, and Frederiksborg Castle is no exception. This angel in the castle church certainly haven't seen a dust cloth for a long time.

A Knight's Shield

The walls and stairwells of the church at Frederiksborg Castle are covered with shields with colourful and fanciful emblems. These are the shields of all the recipients of the two Danish orders; the Order of the Elephant and the Order of Dannebrog (the name for the Danish flag), and the church is actually a Knight's Chapel for these two orders. When looking at the names you get a very good picture of who's who in 400 years of Danish history, and even tourists will recognize names like Eisenhower, Churchill, Montgomery, De Gaulle, Mandela and numerous other heads of state and international figures, who have been given the Order of the Elephant. Nicolae Ceauşescu's is not there any more though.

Stained Windows

The stained windows in the church at Frederiksborg Castle shows the emblems of the areas of the Kingdom of Denmark, when it was at the peak of its power. Many of the areas are now under other rule.

Banquet Hall

Frederiksborg Castle is a renaissance castle, and that shows in the details and decorations of the rooms. Here it's the banquet hall in all its glory.

A Steady Hand

Many of the old paintings at Frederiksborg Castle need the occasional brush-up, and even though the restorers try to stay behind covers, it's possibly to watch them in action. This is a job that needs a steady hand and lot of patience.

Historic Paintings

When I'm reading books on Danish history, they are often illustrated with a lot of paintings with historic motifs, like this one "The conspirators riding from Finderup barn following the murder of Eric V Klipping in 1286" by Otto Bache. Many of them were painted for the museum at Frederiksborg Castle in the late 19th hundreds, so when visiting here, the paintings are like old friends.