Denmark’s First Hippie: Christen Lyngbo and the Dream of the Good Life
What does a good life mean in a world of constant change?
At a time when many people are drawn to urban life and technological progress, others are searching for something slower, simpler, and more rooted. More than a hundred years ago, Danish artist Christen Lyngbo chose that path.
Born in the westernmost part of Denmark, Lyngbo lived through two world wars and a period of rapid technological transformation. Yet he deliberately turned away from modern trends and city life. Instead, he chose nature as his foundation and shaped a way of living that we might today describe as slow living — long before the term existed.
Lyngbo was among the first artists from his region to study at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts. But he remained in the capital only briefly. City life did not suit him. He returned home to live simply: wearing self-made clothing designed for comfort and movement, growing and eating vegetables, and living closely with light, air, and the surrounding landscape. His aim was to live with as little impact on nature as possible.
This way of life was inseparable from his art. Lyngbo painted in a style that was neither abstract nor avant-garde, but quietly devoted to beauty, craftsmanship, and the landscape he loved. His works reflect a deep concern for the preservation of nature and a belief in the value of skilled, handmade work — themes that feel strikingly relevant today.
While many of his contemporaries sought inspiration in international art centres such as Paris and Berlin, Lyngbo turned his gaze inward and outward at the same time: toward the open heathlands of western Denmark and toward an exploration of how humans and nature might coexist without harming one another.
In 2026, Nymindegab Museum presents an exhibition that not only displays Lyngbo’s paintings, but also connects his life and ideas with urgent questions of our own time — sustainability, reuse, mindful consumption, and our relationship with food and nature.
Perhaps this encounter with an uncompromising artist will invite you to pause and reflect:
What do you choose to hold on to? Where do you find balance? And what does a good life mean to you?
