Elna Inger Cathrine Borch (6 December 1869 – 3 October 1950) was a Danish sculptor. Although her known work is considered high quality by art dealers, Borch is today largely forgotten and little known to the general public.

Biography

Borch was born in Roskilde, Denmark. She was the daughter of merchant Anders Jacob Borch (1834–1904) and Martha Petrine Willumsen (1845–1922). She came from a family full of artists, including her uncle

Jacob Kornerup Jacob Kornerup (19 November 1825 – 9 March 1913) was a Danish archeologist and painter who is remembered above all for discovering and restoring medieval frescos in Danish churches.August Saabye August Vilhelm Saabye (7 August 1823 – 12 November 1916), also known as August Wilhelm Saabye, was a Danish sculptor. Early life and education Saabye was born in Skivholme, , Aarhus, the son of vicar Erhard Saabye (1778–1851) and Susa ...

, who became her instructor when she was at the Academy of Fine Arts for Women (''Kunstakademiets Kunstskole for Kvinde''). She debuted at the

Charlottenborg Spring Exhibition The Charlottenborg Spring Exhibition (''Charlottenborg Forårsudstilling'') is an annual art exhibition in Copenhagen, Denmark. The event is held at the Charlottenborg Exhibition Building (''Kunsthal Charlottenborg''). Kunsthal Charlottenborg ...

in 1891 and continued to exhibit there for several years. She gained the opportunity to study abroad and moved to Paris in 1900 and later to Italy. Her sculptural style references naturalism and

symbolism Symbolism or symbolist may refer to: Arts * Symbolism (arts), a 19th-century movement rejecting Realism ** Symbolist movement in Romania, symbolist literature and visual arts in Romania during the late 19th and early 20th centuries ** Russian sy ...

. In Paris in 1901, she sculpted the bust ''Laughing Faun'', and in 1902, she visited northern Italy, where she made the figure ''Sorrowful Boy'' which later received the Neuhausen Prize. Borch took interest in symbolism and became one of the few Danish sculptors in this form of expression. In 1905, she made a major breakthrough with ''Death and the Maiden'' with clear stylistic references to international symbolism. She was the first female sculptor represented in

Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek The Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek ("ny" means "new" in Danish; "Glyptotek" comes from the Greek root ''glyphein'', to carve, and ''theke'', storing place), commonly known simply as Glyptoteket, is an art museum in Copenhagen, Denmark. The collection ...

, where her most famous sculpture ''Death and the Maiden'' resides. Abroad, her work was presented in 1927 at the Danish National Exhibition in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

. She was involved in the cause of animal rights. In 1936, she received the travel scholarship

Tagea Brandts Rejselegat The Tagea Brandts ''Rejselegat'' (Travel Scholarship) is a Danish award to women who have made a significant contribution in science, literature or art. The grant, which is given without application, was created and endowed by Danish industrialist ...

, a Danish award for women who have made significant contributions in the fields of science, literature or art.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Borch, Elna 1869 births 1950 deaths 19th-century Danish sculptors 20th-century Danish sculptors 20th-century Danish women artists 19th-century Danish women artists Danish women sculptors People from Roskilde Symbolist sculptors

Biography

References

Further reading

External links