Image: Thorvaldsen Museum, Copenhagen
Thorvaldsen Museum in Copenhagen is to undertake a major restoration of its inner courtyard after receiving DKK 9 million from the A.P. Møller Foundation, matched by a further DKK 9 million from the City of Copenhagen. The project will conserve the courtyard’s historic facades and restore colours and decorative details that have become difficult to read after decades of exposure to pollution, wind and weather.
The work is scheduled to take place in two stages during 2026 and 2027, with completion expected in 2027. The courtyard will be closed to the public throughout the restoration. The museum said the project will first address the conservation of the facades’ materials before moving to the reconstruction of their historic colours and ornament.
Thorvaldsen Museum was built between 1839 and 1848 to house the work and collections of sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen. Designed by architect Michael Gottlieb Bindesbøll, it is described by the museum as Denmark’s first purpose-built museum building. Thorvaldsen’s grave lies at the centre of the courtyard, whose decorations date from the 1840s and form part of the building’s distinctive architectural character.
The restoration will be based on original sketches and cartoons made during the museum’s construction, as well as documentation from the courtyard’s most recent major restoration, carried out between 1936 and 1940. That earlier campaign has left a visible historical trace in the courtyard: work began under the direction of artist Axel Johansen, who died in a traffic accident in 1938, and was subsequently continued by ceramic artist Axel Salto. On one of the courtyard’s palm friezes, the point where Johansen’s work ends and Salto’s begins can still be seen. The museum hopes to preserve this evidence during the new intervention.
The current project is being carried out in collaboration with Thorvaldsen Museum, the City of Copenhagen, consulting architect Charlotte Felding and Eltang & Rygaard Conservation. Its materials and methods are subject to weather conditions, since the conservation materials cannot be exposed to frost while curing. The museum’s director, Annette Johansen, said the funding would allow the institution to safeguard shared cultural heritage and ensure that visitors could continue to experience the courtyard in the future.
The restoration is the latest in a series of preservation projects at the museum. In recent years, work has also been carried out on ceiling decorations, the copper roof, gates, windows and Sonnes Frieze, with support from several foundations and the City of Copenhagen. The courtyard’s last comprehensive restoration was more than 80 years ago.
