Edvard Eriksen (10 March 1876 – 12 January 1959) was a

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish ance ...

–

Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

Biography

He apprenticed as a wood carver, after which he trained at the

Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts ( da, Det Kongelige Danske Kunstakademi - Billedkunst Skolerne) has provided education in the arts for more than 250 years, playing its part in the development of the art of Denmark. History The Royal Dani ...

between 1894 and 1899. Eriksen's most famous work is the bronze statue of ''

The Little Mermaid "The Little Mermaid" ( da, Den lille havfrue) is a literary fairy tale written by the Danish author Hans Christian Andersen. The story follows the journey of a young mermaid who is willing to give up her life in the sea as a mermaid to gain a h ...

'' (''Det Lille Havfrue''). In 1909,

Jacob Christian Jacobsen Jacob Christian Jacobsen (2 September 1811 – 30 April 1887), mostly known as J. C. Jacobsen, was a Danish industrialist and philanthropist best known for founding the brewery Carlsberg. Biography He had no formal academic or scientific trainin ...

, founder of

Carlsberg brewery Carlsberg A/S (; ) is a Danish multinational brewer. Founded in 1847 by J. C. Jacobsen, the company's headquarters is in Copenhagen, Denmark. Since Jacobsen's death in 1887, the majority owner of the company has been the Carlsberg Foundation. T ...

, commissioned the work of art as a gift to the City of Copenhagen. It was set up on 23 August 1913 by the shore of the promenade Langelinie in the harbor of the old port district of

Nyhavn Nyhavn (; New Harbour) is a 17th-century waterfront, canal and entertainment district in Copenhagen, Denmark. Stretching from Kongens Nytorv to the harbour front just south of the Royal Playhouse, it is lined by brightly coloured 17th and early 1 ...

. Two different women served as models to create the statue. Eriksen used his wife,

Eline Eriksen Eline Eriksen (1881 – 1963), born Eline Vilhelmine Møller, was the wife (since 1900) of Edvard Eriksen and the model for the body of the ''Little Mermaid'' statue in Copenhagen, Denmark. The face of that statue was modeled after ballerina Ellen ...

, as the model for the statue's body and actress

Ellen Price Ellen Juliette Collin Price de Plane (21 June 1878, Snekkersten - 4 March 1968, Brøndby Municipality), better known as Ellen Price, was a Danish ballerina and actress, and a model for the statue ''The Little Mermaid'' in Copenhagen. Price was b ...

as the model for the mermaid's head. Among his other works are the allegorical statues ''Grief, Memory and Love'' made of marble in 1908 for the sarcophagus of

Christian IX Christian IX (8 April 181829 January 1906) was King of Denmark from 1863 until his death in 1906. From 1863 to 1864, he was concurrently Duke of Schleswig, Holstein and Lauenburg. A younger son of Frederick William, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein ...

and Queen Louise in

Roskilde Cathedral Roskilde Cathedral ( da, Roskilde Domkirke), in the city of Roskilde on the island of Zealand (Denmark), Zealand (''Sjælland'') in eastern Denmark, is a cathedral of the Lutheranism, Lutheran Church of Denmark. The cathedral is the most importan ...

. Edvard Eriksen taught at the Royal Danish Academy between 1908–1919 and was a conservator at

Thorvaldsen Museum The Thorvaldsen Museum is a single-artist museum in Copenhagen, Denmark, dedicated to the art of Danish Neoclassical sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen (1770–1844), who lived and worked in Rome for most of his life (1796–1838). The museum is locat ...

1930–1953. He travelled around Italy with his family learning to carve in marble and was made an honorary professor at the

Accademia di Belle Arti di Carrara The Accademia di Belle Arti di Carrara is a public tertiary academy of art in Carrara, in Tuscany, Italy. It was founded on 26 September 1769 by Maria Teresa Cybo-Malaspina, duchess of Massa and princess of Carrara; but its origins go back to ...

. He was appointed

Knight of the Order of the Dannebrog The Order of the Dannebrog ( da, Dannebrogordenen) is a Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank, who formed a single class known ...

in 1932.

Personal life

After marrying Eline Vilhelmine Møller (1881-1963) in 1900, they had five children. Eriksen died at Copenhagen and was buried at Vestre Cemetery.

References

External links

* * 1876 births 1959 deaths Sculptors from Copenhagen Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts alumni Academic staff of the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts 20th-century Danish sculptors Male sculptors Recipients of the Eckersberg Medal Knights of the Order of the Dannebrog Danish people of Icelandic descent Burials at Vestre Cemetery, Copenhagen Danish male artists 20th-century Danish male artists {{Denmark-sculptor-stub