WHAT I LIKED: It was a wonderful experience to touch sculptures in the permanent collection and in the Sculpture Park.
WHAT I MISSED: There are no verbal description tours or programs available.
To read a summary of the blog, please click the IN SHORT button.
Finally, I am back at the keyboard and will try to browse through my memories of the past few years. I was able to spend a few days in Copenhagen, Denmark, a long time ago, but my impressions of my visit to this museum are still fresh in my mind.
Overlooking the Sound toward Sweden from the Museum gardens.
About the Museum
On a beautiful summer day we took the train from Copenhagen Central station to Humlebæk Station and, after a short walk, arrived at the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art.
The museum was founded in 1958 by Knud W. Jensen, who took over the Old Villa and then added a state-of-the-art museum complex that melts gracefully into the landscape with a large Sculpture Park at the edge of a cliff overlooking the Sound towards Sweden.
Several new extensions to the original architecture added more space for exhibitions and events. A vast Sculpture Park offers opportunities for a relaxed walk through the park. Enjoy the strategically placed 45 sculptures and a panoramic view of the Sound.
The collection covers the period from 1945 to the present and includes almost every genre—with a focus on international paintings and sculptures.
You may wonder why the museum is called Louisiana. Well, here is some trivia: the first property owner, Alexander Brun (1814–93), who built the Old Villa in 1855, named the house after his three wives—all called Louise!
Left: Ceramic head of a woman by Picasso. Right: Picasso, Head of a Woman, 1979.
Entrance and Galleries
White gloves and the list of touchable sculptures
Prepare your visit to the museum a couple of weeks ahead—you can ask for gloves and a list of sculptures that you are allowed to touch if you send an email ahead of time. This is a special service for the low vision community, and I can highly recommend it!
It was a very special experience to be able to touch sculptures by Giacometti and others in the galleries, and you are allowed to touch the sculptures in the Sculpture Park as well! A delightful treat!
The galleries are spacious and have mostly natural light through wide windows, offering a nice view of the gardens around the building.
I encountered several steps between various levels of gallery space. Be aware of that while walking through the rooms.
Labels and Audio Guide
The labels were well designed in the exhibitions that we saw. Sometimes they were placed rather low on some display cases, sometimes near the floor.
An Audio Guide on the website, unfortunately without verbal descriptions, offers background information and insights on art pieces in the Sculpture Garden and about the History and Architecture of the Museum.
Left: Alberto Giacometti, Walking Man, Bronze, 1960.
The sculpture is standing in front of full-length glass panels, allowing a view of the garden outside.
Right: A hand in a white glove touching Alberto Giacometti’s Standing Man.
Last, But Not Least
This museum is worth a day trip from Copenhagen. Get there early enough to be able to enjoy the indoor galleries, the Sculpture Park, and the beautifully landscaped gardens and take a rest in the Café with a fantastic view of the Sound.
Left: Me, touching a sculpture by Jean Arp, Seuil-réflection, 1960/82.
Right: Label
More Works from the Collection
Left: A look into the gallery with several sculptures by Giacometti, Venice Women.
Right: Label
Right: Me, touching Henry Moore’s sculpture Three Piece Reclining Figure: Draped, 1974–75.
Left: Label