Rudolph Tegner Museum

Rudolph Tegner was a sculptor who fell out with the Danish art establishment, bought a stretch of heath in north Zealand and built his own museum on it, finished in 1938: a windowless raw concrete block, octagonal inside, lit only from above, with no decoration at all, which was startling for its date and still is. He filled it with his own work, mostly large figures in bronze and plaster on classical and symbolist themes, and he is buried beneath the floor. Around the building, twelve hectares of heath and scrub hold fourteen of his statues standing in the open landscape, weathered green, arranged without paths so that you come on them among the heather. The setting does more for the sculpture than any gallery could.

History

The sculptor Rudolph Tegner (1873-1950) acquired the central part of the area in 1916, first setting up the group King Oedipus and Antigone and in 1924 a second large group, followed by others. The museum building was designed by Tegner himself with the help of the architect Mogens Lassen; construction began in 1937, it was inaugurated in 1938, and a renovation was completed in 2003. It shows some 250 of his sculptures and models in plaster, clay, bronze and marble, and 14 of his statues stand in the surrounding terrain (Wikipedia, Rudolph Tegner Museum).

Highlights

• A raw concrete mausoleum - windowless, top-lit and unornamented, from 1938.
• Fourteen statues on open heath - figures standing among the heather.
• The sculptor's grave - Tegner buried beneath his own museum floor.
• The north Zealand landscape - twelve hectares of scrub and open ground.

When to go

April to October; the museum closes for much of the winter. Two hours. Late afternoon light across the heath is the best time for the outdoor sculptures. It is quiet at all times.

Things to know

Tegner's work is symbolist and heroic in a register that many find dated, and there is a great deal of it. The building is cold and bare inside, deliberately. Winter closure is long. The walk from the station is about twenty minutes with no shelter.

Nearby

Gilleleje and the north coast are nearby; Gribskov lies inland to the south.

Key facts