Famous Danish Artists

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 1 
Lili Elbe
(Danish Painter)
Lili Elbe
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Birthdate: December 28, 1882
Sun Sign: Capricorn
Birthplace: Vejle, Denmark
Died: September 13, 1931
Danish painter Lili Elbe, a transgender woman, became one of the first to undergo a sex reassignment surgery. She passed away after a failed uterus transplant surgery. Her autobiography, Man into Woman: An Authentic Record of a Change of Sex, was released posthumously. She inspired the novel The Danish Girl.
 2 
Olafur Eliasson
(Icelandic–Danish Artist)
Olafur Eliasson
4
Birthdate: February 5, 1967
Sun Sign: Aquarius
Birthplace: Copenhagen, Denmark

Olafur Eliasson is an Icelandic-Danish artist. He is famous for his sculptured and large-scale installation art. He established Studio Olafur Eliasson in Berlin in 1995 and co-founded Studio Other Spaces in 2014. He represented Denmark at the 50th Venice Biennale in 2003. He was a professor at the Berlin University of the Arts for many years. 

 3 
Bertel Thorvaldsen
(Danish Sculptor and Medalist)
Bertel Thorvaldsen
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Birthdate: November 19, 1770
Sun Sign: Scorpio
Birthplace: Copenhagen, Denmark
Died: March 24, 1844

Bertel Thorvaldsen was a Danish sculptor and medallist. He was internationally famous and spent most of his life in Italy. He received his training at the Royal Danish Academy of Art and initially worked with his father, a woodcarver. He went on to become a famous sculptor and worked in a heroic neo-classicist style. He received many awards. 

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 4 
Vilhelm Hammershøi
(Painter)
Vilhelm Hammershøi
3
Birthdate: May 15, 1864
Sun Sign: Taurus
Birthplace: Copenhagen, Denmark
Died: February 13, 1916

Vilhelm Hammershøi was a Danish painter best known for his poetic and subdued portraits. He studied painting with prominent landscape painters Vilhelm Kyhn and Frederik Vermehren at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts. He then debuted in the Charlottenborg Spring Exhibition in 1885 and proceeded to build an illustrious career in art. His wife, Ida, was his muse.

 5 
Asger Jorn
(Danish Painter, Sculptor, Ceramic Artist and Author)
Asger Jorn
2
Birthdate: March 3, 1914
Sun Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Jutland, Denmark
Died: May 1, 1973

Asger Jorn was a Danish painter, sculptor, and ceramic artist. The son of two teachers, he was also expected to become one. He enrolled in the Vinthers Seminarium, a teacher-training college, due to family pressure and later chose to become a painter. He produced over 2,500 paintings, drawings, prints, ceramics, and sculptures in his artistic career.  

 6 
Anna Ancher
(One of Denmark's Greatest Visual Artists)
Anna Ancher
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Birthdate: August 18, 1859
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Skagen, Denmark
Died: April 15, 1935

Anna Ancher was a Danish artist whose paintings depicted the everyday lives of fishermen, children, and women. Widely regarded as one of the greatest visual artists of Denmark, Anna Ancher was honored with several awards, such as the Ingenio et Arti medal and Tagea Brandt Rejselegat. She was also depicted on the DKK1000 banknote.

 7 
Michael Ancher
(Former realist artist)
Michael Ancher
2
Birthdate: June 9, 1849
Sun Sign: Gemini
Birthplace: Bornholm, Denmark
Died: September 19, 1927

Michael Ancher was a Danish realist artist best remembered for his portrayal of fishermen, lakes, and scenes from the fishing community in Skagen. In 1889, he was honored with the prestigious Eckersberg Medal. Today, many of Michael Ancher's paintings are preserved at the National Gallery of Denmark, Skagens Museum, and Ribe Art Museum.

 8 
Paul Gustav Fischer
(Painter)
Paul Gustav Fischer
0
Birthdate: July 22, 1860
Sun Sign: Cancer
Birthplace: Copenhagen, Denmark
Died: May 1, 1934

Paul Gustav Fischer was a Danish painter best remembered for his depiction of popular cities like Copenhagen. Although his paintings were not critically acclaimed during his lifetime, Fischer's art sold well and he exhibited his artworks frequently.

 9 
Nicolai Abildgaard
(Danish Neoclassical Painter and Sculptor)
Nicolai Abildgaard
1
Birthdate: September 11, 1743
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Copenhagen, Denmark
Died: June 4, 1809

Nicolai Abildgaard was a Danish neoclassical sculptor, history painter, and architect. He also served as a professor of anatomy, mythology, and painting at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen. Abildgaard also served as a royal history painter and was commissioned by the Danish government to produce large monumental pieces to decorate the Knights' Room at Christiansborg Palace. 

 10 
Danh Vo
(Danish Contemporary Artists Known for His Conceptual Art Addressing Issues of Self-Identity and Cultural Heritage)
Danh Vo
1
Birthdate: August 5, 1975
Sun Sign: Leo
Birthplace: Ba Ria, Vietnam

Danh Vo is a Danish contemporary artist who lives and works in Mexico City and Berlin. In 2012, he was honored with the prestigious Hugo Boss Prize. His works are often displayed in places like the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York City.

 11 
Richard Mortensen
(Danish Painter)
Richard Mortensen
0
Birthdate: October 23, 1910
Sun Sign: Libra
Birthplace: Copenhagen, Denmark
Died: January 6, 1993

Richard Mortensen was a Danish painter. He studied at the Royal Danish Academy of Art in Copenhagen and was heavily influenced by the works of the Russian painter Wassily Kandinsky. He created works that reflected the violence of Europe during the Second World War. He later became a professor at the Royal Danish Academy of Art.

 12 
Pia Arke
(Remembered for her self-portraits and landscape photographs of Kalaallit Nunaat (Greenland))
Pia Arke
0
Birthdate: September 1, 1958
Sun Sign: Virgo
Birthplace: Ittoqqortoormiit, Greenland
Died: April 30, 2007

Pia Arke was a Danish visual artist, photographer, and writer. She is best remembered for creating her own life-size camera obscura which she used to photograph the landscapes of Greenland. Pia Arke is often counted among the most prominent postcolonial critics of the Nordic region.