The Royal Danish CollectionAmalienborgThe PalaceInterior and objectsThe Blue Chamber
Beletage

The Blue Chamber

This room is included in the special exhibition Frederik X: King of Tomorrow until 8 September 2024. Therefore, you will not be able to see the room in the state that is described on this page until autumn/winter 2024.

The room was originally furnished for Hereditary Prince Frederik’s wife Hereditary Princess Sophie Frederikke. She died soon after the assumption of the palace, however, and thus had no pleasure from it.

The painting on the wall is Abildgaard’s own work. It bears a resemblance to an illustration in James Cook’s book ‘A Voyage to the Pacific Ocean’ and represents dancing women from Tahiti. The Blue Cabinet also has a trompe-l’oeil ceiling.

 Next room->

Relations

The Royal Representation Rooms

The piano nobile features some of Amalienborg’s most beautiful interiors and is used for official functions by HRH Princess Benedikte as well as TRH Prince Joachim and Princess Marie. Large parts of the piano nobile were created by the painter Nicolai Abraham Abildgaard (1743-1809), who mastered several arts. He was responsible for renovating the palace following the royal assumption of Amalienborg, as a result of the fire at Christiansborg, in 1794. The palace, which was originally known as Levetzau’s Palace after its noble owner, was taken over by Hereditary Prince Frederik (son of Frederik V and Queen Julianne Marie) and his wife, Hereditary Princess Sofie Frederikke. Their son Christian VIII later resided in the palace, which later became known as Christian VIII’s Palace. Abildgaard’s interiors are neoclassical in style and characterised by columns, pilasters, straight lines, and strict symmetry with a fairly bold choice of colours – both by the standards of the time and today. Parts of the interiors were recreated according to Abildgaard’s watercolour sketches of the decor during a thorough renovation of the palace in the 1980s.

Coffered ceiling

The coffered ceiling in The Blue Cabinet was gilded following Hereditary Prince Frederik's assumption of the palace.

Painted flower decoration

The flower decoration below the ceiling in The Blue Cabinet was rediscovered during a study of the architectural history in 1983.

Dance Scene from Tahiti

Painted by Nicolai Abildgaard, who led the renovation of the palace after the royal assumption of it. An almost identical motif is to be found in the English explorer James Cook’s travel journal, “A Voyage to the Pacific Ocean” from 1768-71, which inspired Abildgaard to paint this dance scene. Motifs from the great voyages of discovery were a popular form of decoration at the end of the 18th Century.

Nicolai Abildgaard

Painter and architect, Nicolai Abildgaard is well-known for many renowned artworks, the most famous of which is The Wounded Philoctetes, painted in Rome.