Danish Artworks Resonate with Mormons

KSL NEWS
By Nicole Warburton

One of 23 Carl Bloch paintings inside Frederiksborg Castle in Hillerod, Denmark.

DENMARK - About a mile’s walk through the streets of this picturesque and quaint little town is Frederiksborg Castle. It’s perched in the middle of a lake, and tourists aptly describe it as the Versailles of Denmark, with its meandering gardens and majestic inside rooms. But members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints consider this castle special for a different reason. It’s home to a series of paintings by 19th-century Danish artist Carl Bloch on the life of Christ. Since 1955, when few images were actually used by the LDS Church in publications, these paintings have been used to illustrate more than 300 issues of the Improvement Era or the Ensign. They can also be seen in LDS meetinghouses, temples and other buildings. And now, perhaps as result of the extensive use of these Frederiksborg paintings, a special exhibit of other artworks and altarpieces by Bloch is now on display at the Brigham Young University Museum of Art in Provo. [link]