A
R
C
H
I
T
E
C
T
U
R
E
+
D
E
S
I
G
N
J O U R N E Y S | L O U I S I A N A M U S E U M O F M O D E R N A R T
P
H
O
T
O
S
B
Y
:
K
I
M
H
A
N
S
E
N
I
property and it looked like the future: a
venue in which to see Danish modern art
that, until that point, had no special place in
Danish museums. "But as early as one year
later, at the large Documenta II exhibition in
Kassel, he was struck by what he called a
'Documenta shock,'" as the museum puts
it. "Jensen decided immediately to change
course and now saw it as a clear mission
to promote international art in Denmark."
Today, considered one of the world's most
respected and discriminating exhibitions
spaces, the Louisiana makes good
on Jensen's ambitions, attracting top
shows and artistic talent, along with an
international contingent of visitors. Some
come for the architecture alone—an
elegant and precise design by Danish
architects Vilhelm Wolhert and Jørgen
n the village of Humlebæk, on
the shore of Øresund Sound, the
Louisiana Museum of Modern Art
is one of the most significant works
of Danish modernist design in all of
Denmark. One is impressed, but not
surprised. The whole country stands on
the formidable shoulders of Danish design
giants whose iconic work reverberates in
spaces throughout the world in the form
of Arne Jacobsen's Egg Chair, Hans
Wegner's Wishbone Chair, and Poul
Henningsen's PH 5 pendant. The list goes
breathtakingly on.
Drawn from this illustrious tradition, the
Louisiana was built in 1958, taking shape
as a series of graceful, glass-facaded
pavilions surrounding a 19th-century
grand dame called the Old Villa whose
first owner, nobleman Alexander Brun,
christened Louise, the name of his three
wives. A subsequent owner, Knud W.
Jensen, had a different vision for the
56 DIGS.NET
| 6.16.23
