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Art and the formation of national identities

Research Project 2017-2021

The project wishes to demonstrate that art played an active and influential role in the formation of competing national ideas. It will explain when, how and why certain art typologies reflected specific national agendas, and it will show that Danish cultural identity in the nineteenth century was much more plural and contested than previous studies have found. Through analyses of empirical material such as art works and written correspondences on art and politics, our aim is to disclose alternative co-existing identities and visions and to probe the existence of transnational adaptations to the Danish. This study will innovate a methodological approach that will be useful for studies of history, art history and museology in all periods. The project’s societal perspective is to broaden the understanding of Danish cultural identity with the aim of promoting a cosmopolitan mindset rather than a national one.

Who are we?

We are six researchers from history, art history, museology, and german in the project group.

Researchers: Sally Schlosser Schmidt, Sine Krogh, Rasmus Kjærboe, Anna Sandberg/University of Copenhagen, Thor J. Mednick/University of Toledo and project investigator Karina Lykke Grand.

The project is funded by