SMK brings out its very best Nordic works of art in a new display. Come and enjoy bright summer nights, golden cornfields and magnificent Nordic wildernesses.

The exhibition Nordic Highlights shows Nordic art at its very best. Go back in time to the dawn of Nordic art in the nineteenth century in the company of famous artists such as Edvard Munch, Vilhelm Hammershøi, C.W. Eckersberg, Nicolai Abildgaard, Anna Ancher and many more.

The nineteenth century was a halcyon time of Danish art, and throughout the period artists from the Nordic countries – Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark – engaged in close professional exchanges with each other. Many artists travelled out into Europe, and Copenhagen became an important stopover destination. As the artists resided here briefly, many fruitful friendships were built. Friendships that opened up new artistic horizons for an entire generation of young Nordic painters.

Nordic artists share a distinctive feel for the qualities of light. After many months of dense winter darkness they are particularly aware of the brilliance of sunlight and the interplay of light and shadow. The bright summer nights of the North held a special fascination for many painters, inspiring them to create many of the main masterpieces of the period.