Once described as “Denmark’s most controversial — both reviled and admired — woman painter,” Carstensen largely faded from view after her death. This exhibition highlights her sustained exploration of form and colour and reasserts her status as a key figure in Danish modernism

Spotlight on a Forgotten Modernist

Ebba Carstensen (1885–1967) was a central figure in Danish modernism in the first half of the 20th century, alongside pioneers such as Jais Nielsen, William Scharff and Astrid Holm. Although her name has largely faded from public awareness, she is now the subject of her largest exhibition in decades, bringing her work back into the spotlight.

Carstensen elevated everyday objects and scenes—birdcages, eggs, milk bottles, rye bread and natural interiors—turning them into recurring subjects across her paintings. The exhibition is organised by motif, offering fresh perspectives on an artist who repeatedly returned to the same themes in a sustained exploration of form and colour. Trained at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts (1913), she joined a young, experimental circle inspired chiefly by German and French art. Her work bears the marks of the turbulent decades she lived through, and she divided her time between a modest Copenhagen flat and a summerhouse in Horneby, North Zealand—places that shaped her outlook and experience.

She described her approach as “to paint out of the head”: not an escape into fantasy, but a disciplined translation of observed impressions into pared-down, powerful compositions. Carstensen also worked in textiles and was meticulous about materials: at a time when factory-primed canvases and ready-made paints were becoming common, she prepared her own grounds and adjusted pigments to achieve the exact hues she wanted.

Despite substantial museum holdings, Carstensen remains little known to the wider public. This exhibition brings her vision into the light, offering a rare chance to experience one of modernism’s pioneering women in a coherent, focused presentation. A richly illustrated catalogue accompanies the show.

Organised with Ribe Kunstmuseum and Øregaard Museum. Supported by A.P. Møller and Chastine Mc-Kinney Møller’s Foundation for General Purposes, the Augustinus Foundation, the Beckett Foundation, the Queen Margrethe and Prince Henrik Foundation, the Knud Højgaard Foundation, the Lemvigh‑Müller Foundation, the Aage and Johanne Louis‑Hansen Foundation, the Ny Carlsberg Foundation and the Danish Agency for Culture and Palaces.

Press release and press images available. Press contact: Vanja Falk — vf[at]sorokunstmuseum.dk · +45 52 10 92 41