NEW PORTRAIT OF H.M. KING FREDERIK X TO BE UNVEILED
The first official painted portrait of H.M. King Frederik X since his accession to the throne will be unveiled on 25 September in the Gallery of Monarchs in the Great Hall at Frederiksborg Castle. The portrait is by Danish artist Cathrine Raben Davidsen. In the presence of Their Majesties The King and Queen, Frederik X will join the historic series of monumental portraits of the Glücksburg dynasty – from Christian IX to Margrethe II – in the Great Hall.
For centuries, Frederiksborg has provided the setting for portraits of Danish royalty, and since the late 19th century, the Great Hall has been dedicated in particular to the descendants of Christian IX – known as the “Father-in-Law of Europe” – and the Glücksburg dynasty. With the first official painted portrait of Frederik X, Cathrine Raben Davidsen brings Denmark’s King into a historic tradition of royal portraiture.
The portrait will be unveiled as part of the Carlsberg Foundation’s 150th anniversary celebrations in the Great Hall, taking place on the exact date of the Foundation’s establishment 150 years ago, on 25 September 1876.
The fact that H.M. The King agreed to sit for a portrait for Denmark’s National Portrait Gallery at Frederiksborg is a source of great pleasure to the museum’s director, Ulla Tofte:
“We were delighted when, shortly after his accession to the throne, His Majesty King Frederik X agreed to sit for a portrait for the Great Hall at Frederiksborg. The King has chosen a highly acclaimed Danish contemporary artist, and we very much look forward to a portrait of exceptional artistic quality that respects the tradition while bringing royal portraiture firmly into the present.”
The new portrait will be one of 14 portraits in the Great Hall by Danish artists including Laurits Tuxen, Otto Bache, and Preben Hornung. Like several of her predecessors as royal portraitists, the artist behind the new portrait is a leading contemporary artist. Working on a monumental scale, she sets out to capture her sitter in a full-length composition and within a distinct setting, creating an image for posterity of both the person and the monarch.
The portraits belong to a long European tradition of royal portraiture – something Cathrine Raben Davidsen regards as both an honour and a challenge:
“It is an enormous honour to paint King Frederik X for the Great Hall, and of course it was not something I could say no to. At the same time, it is an enormous challenge. First and foremost, the portrait has to become part of this historic Great Hall. I have also wanted to enter the world of portraiture in my own way and find an expression that captures King Frederik as a person while remaining a natural continuation of my own artistic universe.”
Exhibition with sketches and the artistic process
Alongside the unveiling of the portrait, an exhibition Frederik X. New portrait painted by Cathrine Raben Davidsen will open, taking visitors inside artist’s fascinating working process – from her first studies of The King to the finished portrait. Through photographs, drawings and painted sketches, the portrait of Denmark’s King gradually takes shape. The process has also been documented in a film which will be shown in the exhibition.
The exhibition opens on 28 September – the same day the portrait goes on public display in the Great Hall.
Portrait unveiling marks the Carlsberg Foundation’s 150th anniversary
Since brewer J.C. Jacobsen established the museum at Frederiksborg in 1878, it has been owned by the
Carlsberg Foundation, which provides significant annual funding towards the museum’s operations
Two years before founding the museum, on 25 September 1876, Jacobsen established the Carlsberg
Foundation. This year therefore marks 150 years of the Foundation’s support for Danish science, as well as the creation of a foundation model that would go on to gain international recognition: the Carlsberg Foundation was the world’s first industrial foundation.
About Frederiksborg
Since Frederik VI began assembling and developing Denmark’s foremost portrait collection at the castle in 1812, Frederiksborg has been home to Denmark’s National Portrait Gallery. Following the devastating fire of 1859, which destroyed large parts of the castle’s interior while sections of the portrait collection were saved, the castle was rebuilt and established as the Museum of National History, while retaining its role as the National Portrait Gallery.
The museum’s founder, brewer and Carlsberg founder J.C. Jacobsen, envisioned a museum that would serve as a vast illustrated history of Denmark and help restore Danish national confidence after a turbulent 19th century. Christian IV’s former ballroom, the Great Hall, became the Gallery of Monarchs for portraits of the Glücksburg dynasty.
Today, Frederiksborg holds thousands of portraits of people who have made Denmark what it is today – from monarchs and politicians to scientists, writers, artists and actors. Each, in their own way, has contributed to our shared history and identity and brought about change. Together with the museum’s history paintings, the portraits tell the story of defining events and periods across the centuries.
About Cathrine Raben Davidsen
Cathrine Raben Davidsen (b. 1972) is one of the leading Danish artists of her generation. She graduated from the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts and has also studied at art academies in Italy and the Netherlands. Over more than 25 years, she has developed an extensive and diverse body of work spanning painting, drawing, printmaking, ceramics, textiles and installation. Her work is characterised by a distinctive and poetic visual language in which references to art history, literature and mythology meet explorations of nature, transformation, memory and the human existential relationship with the world.
Cathrine Raben Davidsen has exhibited extensively in Denmark and internationally and has presented major solo exhibitions at institutions including Copenhagen Contemporary, Horsens Art Museum, GL STRAND, the Rudolph Tegner Museum, CLAY Museum of Ceramic Art Denmark and Kastrupgårdsamlingen. Her retrospective exhibition Let Everything Happen to You was presented at Copenhagen Contemporary in 2024 and subsequently at Horsens Art Museum.
Her work is represented in numerous major public and private collections, including the National Gallery of Denmark, the New Carlsberg Foundation, Trapholt, Horsens Art Museum, Kunsten Museum of Modern Art Aalborg and CLAY Museum of Ceramic Art Denmark. She has received numerous awards and grants and was appointed a Knight of the Order of Dannebrog in 2015.
Frederiksborg ∙ Nationalhistorisk Museum · Museum of National History.
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