Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts

The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts - Schools of

Architecture, Design and Conservation
Type

Public university

Established
Rector

1754

Sanne Kofod Olsen

Students2000 (2015)
Location Copenhagen, Denmark
Campus Copenhagen
Website The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts Schools of Architecture, Design and Conservation
The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts (Danish: Det
Kongelige Danske Kunstakademi) has provided
education in the arts for more than 250 years, playing
its part in the development of the art of Denmark.
The Royal Danish Academy of Portraiture, Sculpture,
and Architecture in Copenhagen was inaugurated on 31
March 1754, and given as a gift to the King Frederik V
on his 31st birthday.

Its name was changed to the Royal Danish Academy of

Painting, Sculpture, and Architecture in 1771. At the
same event, Johann Friedrich Struensee introduced a
new scheme in the academy to encourage artisan
apprentices to take supplementary classes in drawing
so as to develop the notion of "good taste". The

building boom resulting from the Great Fire of 1795

greatly profited from this initiative.[1]

In 1814 the name was changed again, this time to the

Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts. It is still situated in
its original building, the Charlottenborg Palace, located
on the Kongens Nytorv in Copenhagen. The School of
Architecture has been situated in former naval
buildings on Holmen since 1996.

The academy is larger and better funded than the

Jutland Art Academy and Funen Art Academy, which
offer similar programs.

It teaches and conducts research on the subjects of

painting, sculpting, architecture, graphics,
photography, and video and in the history of those
subjects.

The academy is under the administration of the Danish

Ministry of Culture.

The academys School of Architecture offers education

in the fields of architectural design and restoration,
urban and landscape planning and industrial, graphic
and furniture design. The school has nine study
departments, four research institutes and six affiliated
research centres. The undergraduate course, leading to

the Bachelor of Architecture diploma, lasts three years

while the Master of Arts in Architecture is a two-year
graduate course. Notable Danish architect Arne
Jacobsen, a major influence behind the Architectural
Functionalism, studied at the Academy, as did Bjarke
Ingels, the rising star in the world of architecture and
design. In 2011, the Wall Street Journal named Ingels
the Innovator of the Year for architecture.
Directors of the Royal Academy schools[edit]
From

To

Director

1754

1754

Nicolai Eigtved

1754

1771

Jacques-Franois-Joseph Saly

1771

1772

Carl Gustaf Pilo

1772

1777

Johannes Wiedewelt

1777

1779

Caspar Frederik Harsdorff

1780

1789

Johannes Wiedewelt

1789

1791

Nicolai Abildgaard

1791

1792

Andreas Weidenhaupt

1793

1795

Johannes Wiedewelt

1796

1797

Jens Juel

1797

1799

Peter Meyn

1799

1801

Jens Juel

1801

1809

Nikolaj Abraham Abildgaard

1809

1810

Christian August Lorentzen

1811

1818

Christian Frederik Hansen

1818

1821

Nicolai Dajon

1821

1827

Christian Frederik Hansen

1827

1829

Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg

1830

1833

Christian Frederik Hansen

1833

1844

Bertel Thorvaldsen

1844

1849

Jrgen Hansen Koch

1850

1853

Herman Wilhelm Bissen

1854

1857

Wilhelm Marstrand

1857

1863

Jens Adolf Jerichau

1863

1873

Wilhelm Marstrand

1873

1890

Ferdinand Meldahl

1890

1892

Otto Bache

1893

1896

Theobald Stein

1896

1899

Otto Bache

1899

1902

Ferdinand Meldahl

1902

1905

Vilhelm Bissen

1905

1806

Otto Bache

1906

1908

Vilhelm Bissen

1908

1911

Martin Nyrop

1911

1914

Viggo Johansen

1914

1917

Carl Aarsleff

1917

1920

Hermann Baage Storck

1920

1825

Joakim Skovgaard

1925

1925

Anton Rosen

1925

1928

Einar Utzon-Frank

1828

1831

Poul Holse

1931

1934

Aksel Jrgensen

1934

1937

Einar Utzon-Frank

1937

1940

Poul Holse

1940

1943

Sigurd Wandel

1843

1846

Johannes Bjerg

1946

1949

Edvard Thomsen

1949

1952

Krsten Iversen

1952

1955

Johannes Bjerg

1955

1956

Svend Mller

1956

1965

Palle Suenson

1965

1974

Tobias Faber