The Royal Danish CollectionAmalienborgThe PalaceInterior and objectsThe AntechamberAlexandra and Dagmar, 1856

Alexandra and Dagmar, 1856

Elisabeth Jerichau-Baumann’s painting from 1856 of Christian IX and Queen Louise’s two eldest daughters, who later became Queen of England and Empress of Russia respectively.

At the time the princesses were 12 and 9 years old respectively. Even though photography came to the fore as a new and popular medium from the middle of the 19th century, it was still common in the upper echelons to have portraits painted. The painter Elisabeth Jerichau-Baumann was amongst the most popular portrait painters of the time in Denmark, and was given several commissions by the Royal Family.

 

Relations

Princess Thyra, 1857

On the wall behind the sofa in Queen Louise's Salon is, among the many portraits, a large painting of the queen's youngest daughter, Princess Thyra, painted by August Schiøtt in 1857.

Kongelige børneportrætter

Amalienborgmuseet udfolder den kongelige families historie gennem de seneste 150 år. Navnlig Dronning Louises private salon bærer præg af et rigt familieliv med mange portrætter på væggene. Christian 9. og Dronning Louise var Danmarks kongepar fra 1863 og indledte den glücksborgske kongelinje. Allerede i samtiden var de kendt som ”Europas svigerforældre”, idet alle deres seks børn blev gift ind i europæiske fyrstehuse. Familiens liv var imidlertid relativt beskedent og lignende på mange måder snarere det bedre borgerskabs end europæiske fyrsters. Prins Christian og Louise af Hessen-Kassel blev gift i 1842, men først 10 år senere blev det besluttet, at de skulle efterfølge den barnløse Frederik 7., deres slægtning, på tronen. Familien boede i de første mange år i Det Gule Palæ ved Amalienborg, og forældrenes ægteskab var lykkeligt. Det var de nære og borgerlige værdier, der prægede barndommen, og sammenholdet i familien var tæt. Dronning Louise var selv kunstnerisk begavet, og der er flere blomstermalerier fra hendes hånd i samlingen. Dronningen var desuden en bekendt af kunstneren Elisabeth Jerichau Baumann (1819-81), der formentlig pga. Dronning Louises introduktioner portrætterede mange kongelige i Europa. Baumann er også kunstneren bag dobbeltportrættet af Prinsesserne Alexandra og Dagmar samt portrættet af Prins Frederik, mens kunstneren August Schiøtt (1823-95) har malet to portrætter af Prinsesse Thyra og Prins Vilhelm. Både Baumann og Schiøtt var kendte kunstnere i deres samtid, og for en familie, der skulle overtage tronen og grundlægge et dynasti, har det været meget naturligt at lade børnene portrættere. Det ses tydeligt i skildringen af tronfølgeren Prins Frederik, der har et officielt og majestætisk præg, mens billederne af døtrene og den yngre søn er tættere på privatsfæren. I 1886 lod Kongeparret med børn, svigerbørn og børnebørn sig forevige af Lauritz Tuxen på Fredensborg Slot. Selv om familien var spredt over store geografiske afstande, lykkedes det ofte at samles på slottet om sommeren til de såkaldte ”Fredensborgdage”. Originalen hænger på Christiansborg, mens en mindre reproduktion kan ses på Amalienborgmuseet.

The Palace

Complete your visit to the Palace Square – step inside the palace and experience royal life of the past and the present. The museum goes back 150 years to Christian IX and Queen Louise, who were known as “Europe’s parents-in-law” because their six children all married into European royal houses. In Christian VIII’s Palace you can see royal interiors: as in a journey through time the rooms of the Royal Couple and their heirs stand intact. The rooms testify to the trends of the time and the personal taste of the members of the Royal Family, spanning Victorian style, military style, and chivalric inspiration. The permanent exhibition in the Garden Room relates, for example via the interactive model, the history of Amalienborg and the surrounding Frederiksstaden quarter. There is also a presentation of the monarchy in the 21st century and look into the daily life of the royalty and the many traditions. The Danish Royal Collection is Danish history form a royal perspective The organisation behind the palace is the Royal Danish Collection, which collects, researches, preserves, and disseminates. We want our visitors to explore living history when they encounter the palace. It is our ambition that our visitors should be moved by our material, through learning, wonderment, fascination and empathy. At the same time, we aim not to stand still in our dissemination of history – Rosenborg is an expression of its time, but the experience of Rosenborg moves with the times. We are constantly developing new material about the palace, and often focus on various themes, so that there is always a good reason for (re)visiting Rosenborg.

Partners

The Royal Danish Collection works with many national and international institutions and networks. The Royal House of Denmark Agency for Palaces and Cultural Properties Heritage Agency of Denmark ARRE – Association des Résidences Royales Européennes ICOM – International Council of Museums CCN – Cruise Copenhagen Network CAB – Castles around the Baltic Heraldisk Selskab IIC – The International Institute for Conservation of Historic and Artistic Works of Art ODM – Organisationen af Danske Museer Ordenshistorisk Selskab SKM – Skandinavisk Museumsforbund Fælleskonserveringen – Danske Museers Center for Bevaring og Restaurering af Kunst NKF – Nordisk Konservatorforbund ICON – The Institute for Conservation VDR – Verband der Restauratoren FDSM – Foreningen af Danske Special Museer  

Alexandra

Queen of Great Britain from 1901. Daughter of Christian IX and Louise of Hesse-Kassel. Married in 1863 to Edward (VII), Prince of Wales. They had six children of whom the youngest died only a few hours after its birth and the eldest, Prince Albert Victor, died from influenza aged 28.

Dagmar

Empress of Russia from 1881. Daughter of Christian IX and Louise of Hesse-Kassel. Married in 1866 to the Russian Grand Duke and heir to the throne, Alexander III. During the revolution Dagmar managed to escape, first to England to her sister Queeen Alexandra. Later she came to Denmark where, together with Alexandra, she bought the villa Hvidøre.

Equestrian statuette

Silver statuette of a woman riding in a ladies saddle, approximately 40 cm in height, beautifully manufactured with many details, probably from the 1870s.

Alexandra, Dagmar and Thyra

The frame with photographs of the three princesses shows very well how much the daughters of Christian IX meant to him.