Hidden cultural heritage – antiquity in the University of Copenhagen
This project invites the public to experience the frescoes in the entrance hall of the University of Copenhagen. They will get an insight into how antiquity was perceived by people in the 1800’s and used by the University as a way to inspire students and public alike who visited the halls of the University. Most importantly, everyone will get a chance to share their thoughts and feelings about the frescoes and compare them to voices from the 19th century.
The Frescoes and the new humanist approach to education in Denmark
After the new university building had been inaugurated in 1836, the University consistorium wanted paintings and sculptures to decorate the entrance hall and the ceremonial hall. The artworks were not only meant to decorate the rooms but would also serve a didactic purpose. In accordance with the ideals of broad education and refinement of the public advocated by the German new humanists, the decorations should inspire the intellectual development of everyone who visited the University.
The artworks depict myths from Ancient Greece. Athena and Apollo feature as personifications of science and culture – the two central aspects of the modern University in the 1800’s. Around the room, large frescoes depict mythical stories such as the birth of Athena, Apollo receiving libations, Prometheus myths, Apollo competing in musical composition against Marsyas, and Athena in competition against Poseidon for the worship of the Athenians. Around the large colourful frescoes there are smaller painted reliefs with various subjects from Greek mythology and pilasters painted with floral arabesques, mythical creatures, and titans.
The decoration process was long. In 1853 the frescoes decorating the walls were finished. It then took a further two years before the two life-like marble statues of Apollo and Athena were finally put in place. The artists behind the decorations were Constantin Hansen, who painted the large mythical panels, Georg Hilker, who painted the decorative elements such as the pilasters, and finally Herman Wilhelm Bissen, who sculpted the sculptures.
The reactions to the decorations at the time varied. In an article in the newspaper Fædrelandet published on 17 December 1853 one can read: “the painted decorations of the entrance hall are finished, and no-one will regret to go there on a clear day and take a look at them. Could this short account inspire quite a lot of people to view this in our land outstanding work of art […] then it has served its purpose”. The journalist also argued that fine art in public spaces had a positive influence on the public. Works of art had the power to inspire the intellect of anyone who saw them.
Others were not as enthusiastic. Morten Nielsen, a farmer’s son from Fyn, visited Copenhagen in 1856 and received a tour of the University building. He notes that the decorations were magnificent, but their content was not to his taste. Instead of Greek gods and goddesses, he would have preferred Norse mythology. The same sentiment was expressed by journalist Meïr Goldschmidt, who went even further and more or less called the decorations a complete failure in that they did not convey a clear and coherent idea. He did, however, admit that some of the paintings were well-made – especially the central piece with Prometheus and Athena. Goldschmidt’s critique was met with an anonymous response in Fædrelandet, published 8 December 1855. In a later number of his journal Nord og Syd, Goldschmidt hints that he suspects the anonymous writer to be no other than the painter Constantin Hansen himself.
A notion that all those who commented on the decorations in the University had in common was that art should serve a higher purpose than the purely aesthetic. Public art should inspire people’s national spirits, enhance their intellects, and in short make them better citizens. The central question was how art could best achieve that goal. To some, art should inspire the Danish people by alluding to Nordic legends; others found inspiration in classical Greek mythology. It is clear, however, that the common belief was that myths from a distant past were best suited to teach the people and lift them up from mere subjects to thinking citizens.
If you wish to know more about the entrance hall and art in the University of Copenhagen, see the following links.
https://universitetshistorie.ku.dk/
https://universitetshistorie.ku.dk/leksikon/f/forhallen/ (in Danish)
https://universitetshistorie.ku.dk/filer/boeger-om-ku/Kundskabens_Huse_KU_2010.pdf (in Danish)
Share your thoughts
In the 1850s, the University of Copenhagen unveiled a series of grand frescoes meant to shape and inspire everyone who entered the building. They sparked lively debates about Danish identity, education, and the ideals of the time.
Now it’s your turn
What do you see in the frescoes? What thoughts or feelings do they evoke today?
