The Foundation of the Royal Library

ca. 1781-1784

Dating: Approximate date range
Held at: Statens Museum for Kunst (SMK)
Medium: Oil on canvas, mounted on millboard
Dimensions: [{"notes": "190 x 365 mm", "part": "Netto", "type": "højde", "unit": "centimeter", "value": "19"}, {"notes": "190 x 365 mm", "part": "Netto", "type": "bredde", "unit": "centimeter", "value": "36.5"}, {"notes": "290 x 461 x 26 mm", "part": "Brutto", "type": "højde", "unit": "centimeter", "value": "29"}, {"notes": "290 x 461 x 26 mm", "part": "Brutto", "type": "bredde", "unit": "centimeter", "value": "46.1"}, {"notes": "290 x 461 x 26 mm", "part": "Brutto", "type": "dybde", "unit": "centimeter", "value": "2.6"}]
Collection no.: KMS1963b
Attribution: By the artist
Image rights: Public Domain Mark 1.0License details

Nicolai Abildgaard. The Foundation of the Royal Library. Statens Museum for Kunst. Public Domain Mark 1.0. Compressed full-frame reproduction.

Collection: Statens Museum for Kunst (SMK)

About this artwork

The Foundation of the Royal Library — Nicolai Abildgaard. ca. 1781-1784.

Medium: Oil on canvas, mounted on millboard. Dimensions: .

Collection record: Statens Museum for Kunst (SMK), Copenhagen. Museum connection according to this source; current display unverified.

Source: official collection record. Metadata selected and normalized by Artline from the source export, accessed 10 September 2026; no museum endorsement. Reproduction rights are separate.

Location checked Sep 10, 2026. This does not indicate whether the work is on display.

Artwork sources

Image source