Church frescos in Denmark

[1] Most of them date back to the Middle Ages and were uncovered by Jacob Kornerup (1825–1913) who carried out restoration work in 80 churches across the country towards the end of the 19th century.

Painting styles are closely related to those of the neighbouring areas of North Germany and South Sweden, especially the province of Scania, which was Danish territory in the Middle Ages.

With the development of Christianity and the construction of stone churches, Romanesque art came to Denmark from the rest of Europe, with influences mostly from North Germany and the Anglo-Norman English Channel area, and possibly even some from Spain and Italy.

[3] Many of the churches in Sealand, especially those in Måløv, Jørlunde, Slaglille, Sæby and Kirke Hyllinge, have highly artistic murals dating back to the 12th century.

The colours were often imported at considerable cost and the paintings, usually of figures, were true frescos, completed on wet plaster in traditionally geometrical compositions with a blue or green background.

[5] There was a lengthy but smooth transition towards Gothic art, beginning in the middle of the 13th century but extending well into the 15th when many of the flat wooden church ceilings were replaced by brick vaulting.

Gothic church murals are found throughout Denmark and in the south of Sweden, and can often be identified as coming from workshops such as the ones in Elmelunde on the island of Møn and Isefjord in northwestern Sealand.

The large anti-Catholic fresco, following a print of 1525 by Sebald Beham, in the parish church of Brøns is one of few such works in Europe.

The church, built during the second half of the 12th century, is richly decorated with late-Gothic frescos, all painted by Hans Maler from Randers in 1548.

Fanefjord Church on the island of Møn in southeastern Denmark is richly decorated with frescos which were uncovered from 1932 to 1934 under the guidance of the National Museum.

The most famous frescos are however those dating back to about 1500 which cover large areas of the church's ceiling and upper walls.

The church in Vittskövle, a small village near Kristianstad, has a wide variety of wall paintings dating back to the 15th century.

Two of them, Nylars and Østerlars, have huge central pillars with a band of frescos around the top depicting scenes from the Annunciation to the Last Judgment.