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 ...
–
Icelandic
sculptor.
Biography
He apprenticed as a wood carver, after which he trained at the
Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts between 1894 and 1899.
Eriksen's most famous work is the bronze statue of ''
The Little Mermaid'' (''Det Lille Havfrue''). In 1909,
Jacob Christian Jacobsen, founder of
Carlsberg brewery, 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. 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 and
Queen Louise in
Roskilde Cathedral. 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. 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
Artists from Copenhagen
Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts alumni
Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts faculty
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