Creative Denmark: Ten books, films and artists to discover!

When you move to a new country, the first things you usually explore are the food and a few city attractions. But do you ever take the time to go deeper? To try understanding the language, watching local films, exploring their art, or browsing through their books? That’s when you start to feel the emotions, catch the inside jokes, and really connect with the culture.

This is especially true if you’ve moved to Denmark — a place that can feel quite challenging to settle into due to its unique culture and language. That’s why I believe it’s important to make an effort to truly understand it. 

I remember in my first month, I opened Netflix and searched for Danish series to hear the language more, and I also opened Spotify and explored Danish playlists. The first book I read was The Little Book of Hygge: The Danish Way to Live Well by Meik Wiking, hoping it would help me understand the culture — and it really did.

I wanted to create something that could help other newcomers, just like some resources helped me. This list is based on a mix of personal research, recommendations from friends, and stories I’ve come across. If you’re looking to get closer to the Danish mindset, here’s a selection of 10 artists, 10 films, and 10 books that offer a deeper, layered look into Denmark.

🎨 10 Danish Artists You Should Know

This part was particularly challenging for me. Although I enjoy visiting museums, I haven’t had the chance to explore every artist in depth. I’ve been to SMK, Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, and the National Museum of Denmark, but I realized my knowledge was still limited. That’s why I did some additional research, and with help from our colleague at Last Week in Denmark, Kalpita shared some great recommendations as well. This list is the result of a combination of museum visits, personal research, and team input.

1. Vilhelm Hammershøi
   A celebrated painter known for his restrained color palette, atmospheric interiors, and quiet compositions. His works often feature solitary figures in sparse, dimly lit rooms.
   (Collections: SMK, Hirschsprung)

   

2. L. A. Ring
   A key figure in Danish Symbolist and Realist painting, Ring captured the emotional landscape of rural Denmark with psychological depth and social commentary.
3. Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg
   Regarded as the father of Danish painting, Eckersberg laid the foundation for the Danish Golden Age. He trained many of the 19th century’s leading artists and is known for his crisp lines, classical balance, and use of light.
4. Anna Ancher
   One of Denmark’s most important female painters, and the only woman in the Skagen artist colony. Her works reflect intimate domestic scenes and mastery of natural light.
5. Viggo Johansen
   Associated with the Skagen painters, Johansen portrayed family life and everyday moments, often using dramatic light and shadow to enhance emotional realism.
6. Esther Gehlin
   A lesser-known but remarkable modernist artist. Best known for her still life paintings, her work is characterized by a quiet intensity and refined color harmony.
7. Asger Jorn
   Co-founder of the experimental CoBrA movement, Jorn was a major post-war figure whose abstract and politically charged paintings pushed the boundaries of traditional art.
8. Per Kirkeby
   A geologist-turned-artist, Kirkeby is one of Denmark’s leading modern painters. His layered, abstract works often reflect themes from nature and history.
   (Collections: ARoS, Louisiana)
9. Queen Margrethe II
   Aside from her role as monarch, Queen Margrethe is also a painter, illustrator, and costume designer. Her artistic contributions include set designs for ballet and theater, and interpretations of literary classics such as The Lord of the Rings.
10. Bjørn Nørgaard
    A provocative sculptor and performance artist known for his political engagement. He created the large-scale tapestries depicting Danish history displayed in Christiansborg Palace.

🎬 10 Danish Films That You Should Know

More than Films, I enjoy Danish TV series — they have a unique way of telling crime stories. The first one I watched was The Chestnut Man, and I couldn’t stop after that. 

I haven’t had much time to dive into Danish movies yet, but I can say that when Druk (Another Round) hit cinemas, I was one of the first to go see it, mostly because of Mads Mikkelsen. That was also the moment I started liking Danish culture, even before I moved here.

Now, I’m going to share nine more films alongside Druk, and to be honest, writing this article made me want to start watching all of them properly.

1. Festen (The Celebration)
   The first film of the Dogme 95 movement, directed by Thomas Vinterberg. A raw and emotionally explosive family drama that won the Jury Prize at Cannes and helped redefine Danish cinema.
2. Druk (Another Round)
   Mads Mikkelsen stars in this tragicomic masterpiece about alcohol, masculinity, and midlife crisis. Directed by Vinterberg, the film won the Oscar for Best International Feature Film (2021).

   

3. Pusher
   Directed by Nicolas Winding Refn, this gritty 90s crime film launched both his and Mads Mikkelsen’s careers. A cult classic that inspired two sequels and brought global attention to Copenhagen’s underworld.
4. Babette’s Feast
   A quiet, deeply human story of generosity, food, and faith. Directed by Gabriel Axel, it became the first Danish film to win the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film (1988).
5. Nightwatch (Natvagten)
   This horror-thriller set in a morgue became a cult favorite in the 90s and later inspired an American remake. Directed by Ole Bornedal and starring a young Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Game of Thrones).

   

6. The Olsen Gang Series (Olsen Banden)
   A legendary Danish comedy franchise that ran from the 1960s to the 1990s. Loved for its witty plots and unforgettable characters, it remains a cornerstone of Danish popular culture.
7. The Hunt (Jagten)
   Another Thomas Vinterberg and Mads Mikkelsen collaboration. A tense, emotionally charged story about false accusations and social paranoia. Mikkelsen won Best Actor at Cannes (2012), and the film was nominated for an Oscar.
8. Dancer in the Dark
   Directed by Lars von Trier, this bold musical tragedy starring Björk won the Palme d’Or at Cannes (2000). A polarizing but unforgettable piece of cinematic art.
9. Altid Ballade
   A 1955 black-and-white film offering a realistic portrait of a working-class family in Nørrebro. It remains a cultural time capsule of post-war Copenhagen life.
10. Anja & Viktor
    A romantic comedy series beloved by Danish millennials. While lighter in tone, the films offer a nostalgic glimpse into early 2000s youth culture and everyday life.

📚 10 Essential Books That You Should Know

Like many other people, I first heard of Hans Christian Andersen through The Little Mermaid — but it was The Little Match Girl that stayed with me. I remember crying for a long time after reading it as a child. It’s not as popular as The Little Mermaid, but I’d still call it a classic. If you read it as a child, it leaves a deep impression — it’s a beautiful, but very sad, story. This year, I even visited Hans Christian Andersen’s grave on his birthday, and once again, I felt grateful for the beautiful stories he gave us.

While preparing this list, I also added a few titles that are still on my list, like The Copenhagen Trilogy. I’ve heard so much about it, and I’m excited to explore more modern Danish literature. Of course, there are some timeless classics on the list as well. So, it’s a mix of both.

I haven’t included Meik Wiking’s books in this section, but I mentioned them at the beginning. You can still try the Little Book of Hygge series to understand Danish habits and culture. Another lovely one from him is My Hygge Home: How to Make Home Your Happy Place — especially if you’re looking to bring more coziness into your home.

1. Hans Christian Andersen – Fairy Tales
   Everyone knows The Little Mermaid, but Andersen’s deeper, darker tales — like The Shadow or The Story of a Mother — reveal the complexity and emotional depth that made him a literary icon worldwide.

   

2. Søren Kierkegaard – Either/Or
   Often considered the father of existentialism, Kierkegaard’s philosophical writings shaped not only Denmark but modern European thought. Either/Or remains his most influential and challenging work.
3. Tove Ditlevsen – The Copenhagen Trilogy
   A candid and poetic memoir of life, addiction, and womanhood in mid-century Copenhagen. Hugely acclaimed internationally, and a literary cornerstone in modern Danish literature.
4. Knud Rasmussen – Across Arctic America
   Part exploration log, part ethnography. Rasmussen’s writing captures the life and traditions of Greenlandic Inuit communities and remains a key text in the Danish-Greenlandic cultural dialogue.
5. Troels Kløvedal – En sejlers dagbog
   A sailor, writer, and storyteller, Kløvedal documents his life at sea with lyrical warmth. His voyages aboard the Nordkaperen captured the imagination of generations in Denmark.
6. Solvej Balle – Om udregning af rumfang
   An experimental literary project exploring time and repetition through language. Balle’s work has gained international attention and was shortlisted for the 2022 International Booker Prize.
7. Peter Høeg – Miss Smilla’s Feeling for Snow
   A literary thriller that explores identity, isolation, and belonging between Denmark and Greenland. A global bestseller and an essential modern novel from Denmark.
8. Jussi Adler-Olsen – Department Q Series
   Denmark’s most successful crime writer. The Department Q books are gripping, darkly humorous, and full of social commentary — loved both at home and abroad.
9. Dorrit Willumsen – Marie
   An award-winning historical novel about the life of Madame Tussaud. Willumsen’s work is known for its psychological depth and portrayal of strong, complex women.
10. Jakob Ejersbo – Africa Trilogy
    A powerful, gritty portrayal of post-colonial life in Tanzania and the lives of expatriates and locals. Ejersbo’s writing is raw, realistic, and widely regarded as a modern classic.

I hope you find this list useful. To be honest, after preparing it, I now have even more things I want to read, watch, and visit — because I also want to go deeper into Danish culture, beyond just eating the food and joining events. I truly believe that this is one of the best ways to understand a culture on a deeper level.

Danish culture isn’t always easy to understand, and that’s exactly why I think engaging with it through art, literature, and film is so important. It’s a meaningful way to feel a real connection.