How does the window appear in music, literature, film, theatre, architecture, and the visual arts? This question is explored by VILLUM Window Collection in a new podcast series, Iconic Windows in the Arts, in which some of the country’s leading experts delve into works where the window plays a central role.
The series is produced by VILLUM Window Collection and hosted by architect Ane Cortzen. Across eight thematic episodes, she and experts including Bente Scavenius, Katrine Gislinge, and Merete Pryds Helle examine how the window functions as a motif, a metaphor, and a narrative frame.
The window as an artistic device
In architecture and the visual arts, the importance of the window is well established, but in many other art forms the window also plays a surprisingly significant and symbolic role. Iconic Windows in the Arts investigates this cross-disciplinary significance through selected works from classical music, visual art, film, photography, theatre, literature, architecture, and pop music.
Dorthe Bech-Nielsen, Museum Director at VILLUM Window Collection, says of the series:
“Windows appear in all artistic disciplines and often carry a very particular significance. For a long time, we have wanted to identify what we call the ‘Mona Lisa of the window’—that is, a singular work within different art forms in which the window plays a uniquely important role in the narrative. This podcast series is a starting point, and in the longer term we dream of creating a special exhibition based on the works identified by our experts in the series.”
Eight episodes – eight art forms
Classical music
Associate Professor of Music History Søren Schauser and pianist Katrine Gislinge select and analyse classical works with the window at their centre—from Schubert’s string quintets to Brian Eno’s iconic Windows 95 jingle.
Listen to the episode on windows in classical music
Visual Art
Art historian Bente Scavenius and artist David Risley take a closer look at a range of iconic works by, among others, Hammershøi, Vermeer, Magritte, and Hopper, in which the window functions both as a motif and a psychological marker.
Film
Film writer Niels Bonde Jensen and Cinemateket programme editor Sophie Engberg explore moments in film history where the window becomes a dramatic device—from Hitchcock’s Rear Window to Brian De Palma’s Body Double.
Photography
Photographer Laura Stamer and Professor Mette Sandbye identify photographic works in which the window creates new perspectives—from the world’s oldest photograph from 1825 to works by Gursky, Maier, and Morell.
Theatre
Theatre historian Alette Scavenius and lighting designer Jesper Kongshaug select iconic works from the world of theatre and discuss how the window is used both literally and metaphorically—from La Bohème to Shakespeare productions and Hotel Pro Forma’s Operation: Orfeo.
Literature
Author Merete Pryds Helle and literary communicator Elisabeth Skou-Pedersen bring together literary works in which the window holds particular significance—from, among others, Inger Christensen, Virginia Woolf, and Vladimir Nabokov.
Architecture
DAC CEO Kent Martinussen and architect Sebastian Aristoteles examine the role of the window in architecture and present their selections of iconic windows and works such as Sainte-Chapelle Cathedral in Paris, the Pantheon in Rome, and the Cupola observation module on the International Space Station (ISS).
Pop Music
DJ and radio host Pelle Peter Jencel and musician Emil Falk look at how the window appears in popular songs and music videos—from N.W.A. to Stevie Wonder and Jamie xx.
Listen to the series
All eight episodes will be available on Podbean, Apple Podcasts, and the VILLUM Window Collection website from 14 January 2026. New episodes are released weekly.
Photos
Graphics from Iconic Windows in the Arts
Sainte-Chapelle, architect Pierre de Montreuil, 1248. Photo by Jens Lindhe
Sunbeams or Sunshine, Vilhelm Hammershøi, 1900
Rear Window, Alfred Hitchcock, 1954
Ane Cortzen