Tacita Dean | Kunsten, Aalborg

Tacita Dean’s large-scale photogravure Quarantania is part of the exhibition (Un)real, showcasing highlights from Louisiana’s collection.

Tacita Dean created the large-scale colour photogravure Quarantania specifically for her 2018 exhibition Tacita Dean: LANDSCAPE, PORTRAIT, STILL LIFE, an unprecedented collaboration between the National Gallery, National Portrait Gallery and Royal Academy of Arts in London.

The mountain depicted in the desert landscape in Quarantania is Jebel Quarantul or the Mount of Temptation, the ‘high place’ referenced in the Bible where Jesus was taken by the devil and offered dominion over ‘all the kingdoms of the world’ if he fell down and worshipped Satan. The name is derived from the Latin word for forty; the number of days Christ fasted in the wilderness.

(Un)real is on view at Kunsten Museum of Modern Art Aalborg until 19 October 2025