A party in Glyptoteket

Peder Severin Krøyer's painting of a gathering at the Glyptotheket in Copenhagen (1888) documents one of the most important cultural institutions in Denmark — the museum of ancient and French art founded by Carl Jacobsen, whose collection shaped Danish artistic taste and cultural ambition. The gathering at the Glyptotheket — presumably a private reception or opening — brought together the cultural elite of Copenhagen in the museum's distinctive classical interior. Krøyer's depiction of such events continued his interest in documenting the social world of Danish cultural life alongside his more famous outdoor Skagen paintings.

The museum interior subject presents Krøyer with the challenge of artificial light — the Glyptotheket's classical galleries lit by skylight or lamplight in ways quite different from the outdoor Skagen light that was his most characteristic environment. His figure painting skill, developed through extensive practice, handles the assembled guests with the individual characterization that made his group portraits so admired. The museum interior provides an imposing architectural setting for the social gathering.