Denmark's National Museum of Art (SMK) presents a vast collection of sculptures by Michelangelo, ranging from originals to 3D cast reproductions. This is the largest exhibition of the work of this universal humanist genius ever organized in the country.
The Statens Museum for Kunst (SMK) in Copenhagen gives pride of place to Michelangelo, born Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (1475-1564). The Danish institution has found a way to present one of the most complete collections of sculptures by this Renaissance master.
The "Michelangelo Imperfect" exhibition brings together the majority of his works in a single venue. It also includes previously unpublished reproductions, original drawings, sculptural models and a large quantity of correspondence. " It could not have been done with the originals, which are never moved," stresses the museum. A unique encounter, then, with this major figure in art who never ceased to explore universality.
Original vs. reproduction
The SMK boasts one of the most comprehensive exhibitions of Michelangelo's work in 150 years. What's more, this selection has not been assembled since the 400th anniversary of Michelangelo's birth in Florence in 1475.
A collection of historical casts of his sculptures and high-quality 3D replicas are juxtaposed in his curatorial spaces. The work was conceived in Madrid by the Factum Foundation, a leader in the production of facsimiles, recreation and rematerialization of works of art. Thanks to in-depth studies, the National Art Museum of Denmark takes a closer look at this complex relationship between original and reproduction in the digital age.
Sculptor, painter, architect and draughtsman, Michelangelo rose to fame at a very early age. From the age of 13, he knew he wanted to be an artist, and skilfully followed his vocation that led him to posterity. " His creative abilities in a number of artistic disciplines define him as an archetypal Renaissance man, alongside his rival Leonardo da Vinci", says the museum. An era that also saw two other great Italian Renaissance figures, Donatello and Raphael.
The work of the man who sculpted the Pietà and David before his 30th birthday, as well as Moses, Brutus, Bacchus and the Madonna of Bruges, is thus sublimated and analyzed in depth.
Imperfect perfection
Throughout his life, Michelangelo concentrated on the anatomy and creation of the human body, playing meticulously with proportions and movements. For him, art was "a divine expression of the human soul".
An obsessive perfectionist, but also capricious and solitary, this genius probed the "thoughts, emotions and tensions" that define flesh-and-blood beings, highlighting imperfections with brilliantly calculated excess, whether they stem from progress, anxiety or hesitation.
His masterpieces continue to grace the history of Western art down the centuries. He is credited with the design of the dome of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, the painting of the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican, including the iconic scene of Adam's creation, and the fresco of the Last Judgment on the wall of his altar.
The 4.35-metre-high Carrara marble statue of David in Florence remains one of the symbols of beauty and wisdom, of will and courage in this challenge against the giant Goliath. An exemplary allegorical representation of his ability to overcome obstacles and reveal the power of art.
"Michelangelo Imperfect
Statens Museum for Kunst (SMK)
Sølvgade 48-50, Indre By (Denmark)
March 29 to August 31, 2025
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