#LoveCPH: The Glyptotek…

I had been wanting to see the Glyptotek ever since moving here to Copenhagen, even though I had not idea what a Glyptotek really was.  It just sounding like something old-worldy, and frankly, I feel like I use a bit more old world and grand from time to time.  Sometimes my eye could use a break from all this minimal modernism around here…

 

From the moment I walked in, I could tell I was going to love this place…

 

The entry pavillion, with it’s soaring atrium and central fountain made me want to move in right then and there, and just a taste of what’s to come.  Not only is this place, which happens to be a museum devoted to sculptural antiquities, French and Danish art, old-worldy, but it has a completely modern twist of clean lines and fantastic curation that let the collections shine as a whole, but also draws attention to each piece individually.  It’s almost as if two separate visits are required – one for the art itself, and one for the presentation styles and layouts.  

 

With diplo-tot having completed her first week of Danish Forest School, which is a separate tale of adventure, I think she was missing a bit her quieter earlier days in libraries and parks and museums, which is where she would pass the hours before.  The new school is introducing her to a whole new world, but I think she maybe had a bit of nostalgia for “the way we were”.  When I asked her what she wanted to do that day, she replied, “I just want to go to a museum with you, mommy”.  Not what you expect from your two year old, but I’ll take it (and encourage it).  Any day.  I let her be tour guide so after reading off three options, she chose the Egyptian room.  Not that she necessarily knew what that would be but why not?

 

We talked about the various statues and made up stories about them, but she was most captivated by the mummies illuminated in the dark basement.  

 

We also took a peek into the concert hall.  Sadly, nothing was playing but deifnitely adding this list to my music venues to see here in Denmark – just seems like music would sound all the better here? Also, this made me want to get a few statues for my living room.  Just in case I needed that old world feeling on a more full time basis.

 

Below are a few of the gallery walls – these pictures don’t nearly do it justice but in so many rooms I just loved the layouts and framing.  Also, this is probably one of the ONLY places in Copenhagen to see color on the interior.  If you’ve been here before, you probably have noticed that white walls and floors are the order of the day here.  If given the option, I also tend towards white myself – but since we’re surrounded by that here nearly to the point of saturation, there was something refreshing to see not only colors on the walls  here but those chosen with such distinctive pigments and interpretations.  If you ever need to get out of the white zone in CPH, this also rises to the top of the list.



Interestingly, the place where we ended up spending the most time was the statue below of the prodigal son.  I’ve always love the story but didn’t necessarily spend too much time at the statue, getting a bit tired towards the end of our visit.  Diplo-tot was for some reason fascinated by this one – and asked for the story. So I told her…probably about 17 times.  She didn’t want to leave these guys, so I had to promise we would come back to see them, and given how much we both loved this museum, that is a-okay by me.