6 
MuseoMag   N°IV 2025 
INTO THE MOONLIGHT: A JOURNEY 
THROUGH TUXEN’S NIGHTSCAPE 
Discover our latest acquisition in an immersive installation 
© 
éric 
chenal 
Join us for a moonlit encounter with Danish painter 
Laurits Tuxen’s Moonrise (1909) at this year’s Museum 
Night. Acquired earlier this year at TEFAF Maastricht 
– the internationally renowned fair for fine art, 
antiques and design –, this meditative painting will 
be showcased in an intimate, immersive setting 
designed to enhance its atmospheric qualities. 
ABOARD THE STEAMER 
Painted from the stern of a steamer, Moonrise places 
the viewer aboard a vessel drifting through moonlit 
waters, where large, jagged shapes trace a shim- 
mering trail beneath the rising moon. Thick, black 
plumes of smoke billow from the ship’s smokestacks 
into the night sky. In the upper right corner of the 
canvas, the faint silhouette of a sailing ship flickers 
with a few small, dancing lights. It’s unclear where 
the sea ends and the sky begins, the composition 
bordering on abstraction. 
The painter of this scene, Laurits Tuxen, had a par- 
ticular interest in the effects of moonlight on water 
and land, the play of light and shadow and sub- 
jects whose painterly qualities allowed him to blur 
the boundaries of reality and imagination. He was 
renowned for his masterful use of light and colour, 
capturing both the grandeur and the quiet poetry of 
nature. Although his paintings of Skagen, the north- 
ernmost town in Denmark, date from the beginning of 
the 20th century, Tuxen is now recognised as part of 
the Skagen Painters, a group of artists who gathered 
in northern Denmark during the 1870s and 1880s. 
Moonrise is the first Danish landscape to enter 
Luxembourg’s national collection, joining works from 
Swedish and Irish schools to form a unique Euro- 
pean ensemble. Don’t miss this rare opportunity to 
experience the evocative power of Tuxen’s art in a 
setting that speaks to all the senses. 
STEP INTO THE SCENE 
The painting will be on show in a small, vaulted room 
affectionately known by museum staff as the Kapell- 
chen (“little chapel”). Tucked behind the atrium, this 
intimate space lends itself well to the contemplative 
nature of Tuxen’s work. 
The painting will be on show in a small, vaulted room affectionately known by museum staff as the Kapellchen (“little chapel”).