Great Dane: Per Kirkeby at Tate Modern

Per Kirkeby's Untitled (2000). Tate Modern's exhibition spans four decades of work Photograph: Johnny Green/PA

Flight Into Egypt (1996) is one of the epic canvases on display Photograph: Johnny Green/PA

The Siege of Constantinople (1995). Kirkeby trained as a geologist. His paintings in the 1960s were inspired by pop art. 'His character as a painter doesn't really come together until the 1970s,' says Adrian Searle in his review of the Tate Modern show Photograph: Per Kirkeby/Tate/PA

Kirkeby began to make sculptures of various sizes in the 1970s Photograph: Shaun Curry/AFP/Getty Images

Untitled (1984). Kirkeby is Denmark's best-known contemporary artist. His recent commissions include works for Copenhagen's Royal Library and Geological Museum Photograph: Johnny Green/PA

Kirkeby is also a poet and has written studies of major painters, including Munch, El Greco, Picasso and Gauguin. Such works line a wall at Tate Modern's exhibition Photograph: Johnny Green/PA

Kirkeby's Wald-Variation II (1989). Tate Modern's exhibition runs until 9 September 2009 Photograph: Per Kirkeby/Tate/PA