Smk Tv - The perspective chamber

In 1665 Frederick III commissioned the construction of a new building - - with two secret passageways leading to Copenhagen Castle. It was to house the Royal Library and the Royal Cabinet of Curiosities - - containing all of the King's objets d'art. It is now a part of the Record Office. It faces the courtyard opposite the entrance to the Parliament. The monarch had personally built up both collections - - thus acquiring the prestige befitting a king at the time. The cabinet of curiosities was a product of Renaissance thought. The world was divided into two main categories: Naturalia, creations of nature, - - and artificialia, things made by man. The cabinets of curiosities contained rooms for naturalia and artificialia. Thus making the cabinet of curiosities a reflection of the world. The Perspective Room was one of the rooms. In this room the display resembles that of the original Perspective Room. Different sources indicate how the Perspective Room was furnished. For instance, the Danish late Baroque architect, Laurids de Thurah, - - in his work on architecture "Hafnia Hodierna" from 1748. "First you step into an anteroom called the Perspective Room - - as it contains several cabinets where all sorts of churches, - - Lutheran, Reformed, Roman Catholic - - and other objects of an artificial perspective are represented. You see many paintings with an artificial perspective - - and several others with still life objects as the painters refer to them. The latter, particularly, are the work of a famous master, Gijsbrechts." The cabinets de Thurah mentions are so-called "peep shows" - - where you could see painted interiors in 3D. Three of the five peep shows have been preserved. One of them is exhibited in this room. We have hung a selection of the paintings de Thurah refers to here. As described by de Thurah, the Flemish painter, - - Cornelius Norbertus Gijsbrechts, painted most of them. Gijsbrechts was court painter to Frederick III and Christian V - - from 1668 to 1672. Gijsbrechts' works presented the guests with an optical illusion. The illusion was so real - - that is seemed as if you were looking at real objets d'art. In one of Gijsbrechts' paintings we are looking into a cabinet. A drawer holds shells, corals and pearls - - and on the shelf above lies a strange animal skull. At the time, they were precious treasures from the natural world. On the shelf are instruments used to explore space and map the world: A compass, an armillary sphere, a celestial globe and so on. In the centre are open books with maps and botanical illustrations - - and, in front of it all, a large document with a royal seal. The king was Frederick III. In the painting he is honoured as the founder of the Royal Library - - and the Royal Danish Cabinet of Curiosities. Frederick III died before the building was finished. His successor, Christian V, continued with the plans for the furnishing, - - which took place during the 1680s. Several of Gijsbrechts' paintings depict the notice boards of the time. Letters, newspapers and personal items are hung between red ribbons. Other paintings depict the painter's studio with easel and painter's tools. Here and there are seen small portraits of the artist - - or his two royal patrons. As a form of signature, Gijsbrechts painted little notes - - addressed to His Royal Majesty's painter, C.N. Gijsbrechts. In this way the Perspective Room is also a tribute to the two kings - - who founded the Royal Library and the Royal Cabinet of Curiosities - - and the master who created a unique gimmick with his optical illusions.