WHAT IS THE GLYPTOTEK?

Museum of the ancient cultures

The Glyptotek is a museum of the ancient cultures of the Mediterranean as well as Danish and French art from the 19th century. It was the aim of the founder, brewing magnate Carl Jacobsen, to enrich his fellow citizens with art of international stature.

Carl Jacobsen believed deeply and sincerely in the pedagogical significance of art. It was his conviction that works of art should not be arranged according to scientific systems, as in a museum, but that they should speak directly to the individual visitor. For this reason he chose to call his collection the Glyptotek which means a repository for sculpture. In this way he emulated his great hero, King Ludwig of Bavaria, who, 50 years before, had created the Glyptotek in Munich which also contains ancient sculpture.