PAINTERS from Denmark

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Danish Painters of all time. This list of famous Danish Painters is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Danish Painters.

1. Lili Elbe (1882 - 1931)

With an HPI of 68.19, Lili Elbe is the most famous Danish Painter.  Her biography has been translated into 46 different languages on wikipedia.

Lili Ilse Elvenes (28 December 1882 – 13 September 1931), better known as Lili Elbe, was a Danish painter, transgender woman, and one of the earliest recipients of sex reassignment surgery (gender-affirming surgery). She was a painter under her birth name Einar Wegener. After transitioning in 1930, she changed her legal name to Lili Ilse Elvenes, stopped painting, and later adopted the surname Elbe. She was the first known recipient of a uterus transplant in an attempt to achieve pregnancy, but died due to the subsequent complications. The UK and US versions of her semi-autobiographical narrative were published posthumously in 1933 under the title Man into Woman: An Authentic Record of a Change of Sex. A film inspired by her life, The Danish Girl, was released in 2015. An opera based on her life, Lili Elbe, composed by Tobias Picker, premiered in 2023.

2. Ulrika Eleonora of Denmark (1656 - 1693)

With an HPI of 65.48, Ulrika Eleonora of Denmark is the 2nd most famous Danish Painter.  Her biography has been translated into 37 different languages.

Ulrika Eleonora of Denmark (11 September 1656 – 26 July 1693) was Queen of Sweden as the wife of King Charles XI. She is often admired for her generosity and charity. The name Ulrike is a Danish version of the name; in Swedish she is called Ulrika Eleonora den äldre (English: Ulrica Eleanor the Elder), to distinguish her from her daughter, the future queen regnant.

3. Gerda Wegener (1886 - 1940)

With an HPI of 63.80, Gerda Wegener is the 3rd most famous Danish Painter.  Her biography has been translated into 37 different languages.

Gerda Marie Fredrikke Wegener (née Gottlieb; 15 March 1886 – 28 July 1940) was a Danish illustrator and painter. Wegener is known for her fashion illustrations and later her paintings that pushed the boundaries of her time concerning gender and love. These works were classified as lesbian erotica at times and many were inspired by her partner, transgender painter Lili Elbe. Wegener employed these works in the styles of Art Nouveau and later Art Deco.

4. Vilhelm Hammershøi (1864 - 1916)

With an HPI of 63.19, Vilhelm Hammershøi is the 4th most famous Danish Painter.  His biography has been translated into 30 different languages.

Vilhelm Hammershøi (), often anglicised as Vilhelm Hammershoi (15 May 1864 – 13 February 1916), was a Danish painter. He is known for his poetic, subdued portraits and interiors. In 1905, Rainer Maria Rilke wrote of the artist, "Hammershøi is not one of those about whom one can speak quickly. His work is wide-ranging and slow, and at whatever moment one comprehends it, it will always provide an opportunity to talk about what is important and essential in art".

5. Nicolai Abildgaard (1743 - 1809)

With an HPI of 61.77, Nicolai Abildgaard is the 5th most famous Danish Painter.  His biography has been translated into 39 different languages.

Nicolai Abraham Abildgaard (11 September 1743 – 4 June 1809) was a Danish neoclassical and royal history painter, sculptor, architect, and professor of painting, mythology, and anatomy at the New Royal Danish Academy of Art in Copenhagen, Denmark. Many of his works were in the royal Christiansborg Palace (some destroyed by fire 1794), Fredensborg Palace, and Levetzau Palace at Amalienborg. Nicolai Abraham Abildgaard was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, as the son of Anne Margrethe (née Bastholm) and Søren Abildgaard, a noted antiquarian draughtsman. Abildgaard was trained by a painting master before he joined the Royal Danish Academy of Art (Det Kongelige Danske Kunstakademi) in Copenhagen, where he studied under the guidance of Johan Edvard Mandelberg and Johannes Wiedewelt. He won a series of medallions at the Academy for his brilliance from 1764 to 1767. The Large Gold Medallion from the Academy won in 1767 included a travel stipend, which he waited five years to receive. He assisted Professor Johan Mandelberg of the Academy as an apprentice around 1769 and for painting decorations for the royal palace at Fredensborg. These paintings are classical, influenced by French classical artists such as Claude Lorrain and Nicolas Poussin. Mandelberg had studied in Paris under François Boucher. Although artists of that time usually journeyed to Paris for further studies, Abildgaard chose to travel to Rome, where he stayed from 1772 to 1777. He took a side trip to Naples in 1776 with Jens Juel. His ambitions focused in the genre of history painting. While in Rome, he studied Annibale Carracci's frescoes at the Palazzo Farnese and the paintings of Rafael, Titian, and Michelangelo. In addition he studied various other artistic disciplines (sculpture, architecture, decoration, wall paintings) and developed his knowledge of mythology, antiquities, anatomy, and perspective. In the company of Swedish sculptor Johan Tobias Sergel and painter Johann Heinrich Füssli, he began to move away from the classicism he had learned at the Academy. He developed an appreciation for the literature of Shakespeare, Homer, and Ossian (the putative Gaelic poet). He worked with themes from Greek as well as Norse mythology, which placed him at the forefront of Nordic romanticism. He left Rome in June 1777 with the hope of becoming professor at the Academy in Copenhagen. He stopped for a stay in Paris and arrived in Denmark in December of the same year. In 1778, soon after joining the Academy, he was appointed to a professorship. He taught mythology and anatomy in addition to painting of the neoclassical style. Beyond his position at the Academy, he was very productive as an artist from 1777 to 1794. He produced not only monumental works, but also smaller pieces such as vignettes and illustrations. He designed Old Norse costumes. He illustrated the works of Socrates and Ossian. Additionally he did some sculpting, etching, and authoring. He was interested in all manners of mythological, biblical, and literary allusion. He taught some famous painters, including Asmus Jacob Carstens, sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen, and painters J. L. Lund and Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg. After his death, Lund and Eckersberg went on to become his successors as Academy professors. Eckersberg, referred to as the "Father of Danish painting," went on to lay the foundation for the period of art known as the Golden Age of Danish Painting, as professor at the same Academy. As royal historical painter, Abildgaard was commissioned around 1780 by the Danish government to paint large monumental pieces, a history of Denmark, to decorate the entirety of the Knights' Room (Riddersal) at Christiansborg Palace. It was a prestigious and lucrative assignment. The paintings combined historical depictions with allegorical and mythological elements that glorified and flattered the government. The door pieces depicted, in allegory, four historical periods in Europe's history. Abilgaard used pictorial allegory like ideograms, to communicate ideas and transmit messages through symbols to a refined public who was initiated into this form of symbology. Abildgaard's professor Johan Edvard Mandelberg supplied the decorations to the room. He made a failed attempt to be elected to the post of Academy Director in 1787 and was unanimously elected to the post two years later, serving as director during the period 1789–1791. He had the reputation for being a tyrant and for taking as many of the academy's monumental assignments as possible for himself. Abilgaard was also known as a religious freethinker and an advocate of political reform. In spite of his service to (and in his artwork the glorification of) the government, he was hardly a great supporter of the monarchy or of the state church. He supported the emancipation of the farmers and participated in the collection of monies for the Freedom Monument (Frihedsstøtten) in 1792. He contributed a design for the monument, as well as for two of the reliefs at its base. He got drawn into controversies at the end of the 18th century because of his provocative statements and satirical drawings. He was inspired by the French Revolution, and in 1789–1790 he tried to incorporate these revolutionary ideals into the Knights' Room at Christiansborg Palace. However, the King rejected his designs. His showdowns with the establishment culminated in 1794, when his allegorical painting "Jupiter Weighs the Fate of Mankind" (Jupiter vejer menneskenes skæbne) was exhibited at the Salon. He was politically isolated and cut out of the public debate by censors. The fire at Christiansborg Palace, in February 1794, also had a dampening effect on his career, for seven of the ten monumental paintings of the grandiose project were destroyed in that accident. The project was stopped and so were his earnings. However, after that devastating fire accident, he started getting decorative assignments and also got the opportunity to practice as an architect. He decorated the Levetzau Palace (now known as Christian VIII's Palace) at Amalienborg (1794–1798), recently occupied home of King Christian VII of Denmark's half-brother Frederik. His protégé Bertel Thorvaldsen headed the sculptural efforts. He also planned for rebuilding the Christiansborg Palace, but he could not get the assignment. At the start of the 19th century, his interest in painting was restored when he painted four scenes from Terence's comedy Andria. In 1804 he received a commission for a series of paintings for the throne room in the new palace, but disagreements between the artist and the crown prince put a halt to this project. He continued, however, to provide the court with designs for furniture and room decorations. He was once again selected to serve as the Academy's director from 1801 until his death. Abildgaard married Anna Marie "Nancy" Christiane Oxholm (1762–1822) in 1781. She gave birth to his son Marcus Aurelius the same year. However, he lived only to 4 years of age. When Abildgaard found out his wife was unfaithful with Reinhard von Eppingen, chamberlain at the Danish court, he forced the pair to flee in disgrace across the Sound to Helsingborg, Sweden, getting a divorce. His second marriage in 1803 was to Juliane Marie Ottesen (1777–1848). He had a further two sons and a daughter from this marriage. He died at Frederiksdal House in 1809. Nicolai Abraham Abildgaard is buried in Copenhagen's Assistens Cemetery. Though Nicolai Abildgaard won immense fame in his own generation and helped lead the way to the period of art known as the Golden Age of Danish Painting, his works are scarcely known outside of Denmark. His style was classical, though with a romantic trend. According to the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, "he was a cold theorist, inspired not by nature but by art. He had a keen sense of color. As a technical painter, he attained remarkable success, his tone being very harmonious and even, but the effect to a foreigner's eye is rarely interesting." A portrait of him painted by Jens Juel was made into a medallion by his friend Johan Tobias Sergel. August Vilhelm Saabye sculpted a statue of him in 1868, based on contemporary portraits. Art of Denmark Christopher John Murray (2004). Encyclopedia of the Romantic Era, 1760–1850: A-K. Taylor & Francis. p. 1. ISBN 978-1-57958-423-8. Retrieved 31 December 2012. S.A. Sørensen, "Reinhard von Eppingen", i: C.F. Bricka (red.), Dansk biografisk Lexikon, København: Gyldendal 1887-1905. Danish Biographical Encyclopedia ("Dansk biografisk Leksikion") List of paintings by Nicolai Abildgaard

6. Anna Ancher (1859 - 1935)

With an HPI of 61.51, Anna Ancher is the 6th most famous Danish Painter.  Her biography has been translated into 34 different languages.

Anna Ancher (18 August 1859 – 15 April 1935) was a Danish artist associated with the Skagen Painters, an artist colony on the northern point of Jylland, Denmark. She is considered to be one of Denmark's greatest visual artists.

7. Asger Jorn (1914 - 1973)

With an HPI of 60.91, Asger Jorn is the 7th most famous Danish Painter.  His biography has been translated into 25 different languages.

Asger Oluf Jorn (3 March 1914 – 1 May 1973) was a Danish painter, sculptor, ceramic artist, and author. He was a founding member of the avant-garde movement COBRA and the Situationist International. He was born in Vejrum, in the northwest corner of Jutland, Denmark, and baptized Asger Oluf Jørgensen. The largest collection of Jorn's works—including his major work Stalingrad—can be seen in the Museum Jorn, Silkeborg, Denmark. Jorn willed his property and the works of art located inside to the Municipality of Albissola Marina (Savona), so the Italian museum called "Casa Museo Jorn" was created for displaying his works.

8. Michael Ancher (1849 - 1927)

With an HPI of 60.35, Michael Ancher is the 8th most famous Danish Painter.  His biography has been translated into 35 different languages.

Michael Peter Ancher (9 June 1849 – 19 September 1927) was a Danish realist artist, and widely known for his paintings of fishermen, the Skagerak and the North Sea, and other scenes from the Danish fishing community in Skagen.

9. Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg (1783 - 1853)

With an HPI of 60.34, Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg is the 9th most famous Danish Painter.  His biography has been translated into 35 different languages.

Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg (2 January 1783 – 22 July 1853) was a Danish painter. He was born in Blåkrog in the Duchy of Schleswig (now in Aabenraa Municipality, in the southern part of Jutland in Denmark). He went on to lay the foundation for the period of art known as the Golden Age of Danish Painting, and is referred to as the "Father of Danish painting".

10. Carl Bloch (1834 - 1890)

With an HPI of 58.39, Carl Bloch is the 10th most famous Danish Painter.  His biography has been translated into 28 different languages.

Carl Heinrich Bloch (Danish pronunciation: [ˈkʰɑːˀl ˈplɒk]; 23 May 1834 – 22 February 1890) was a Danish artist.