''Fishwife'' (

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 a ...

: ''Fiskerkone'') is a 1940 granite statue of a

fishwife A fishwife, fish-fag or fishlass is a woman who sells fish. Some wives and daughters of fishermen were notoriously loud and foul-mouthed, as noted in the expression, ''To swear like a fishwife'' as they sold fish in the marketplace. One reaso ...

situated at

Gammel Strand Gammel Strand (modern Danish for "old beach"; originally meant "the old shoreline", i.e. prior to land reclamations) is a street and public square in central Copenhagen, Denmark. On the south side it borders on the narrow Slotsholmens Canal whil ...

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

, Denmark, commemorating the fact that the city's principal

fish market A fish market is a marketplace for selling fish and fish products. It can be dedicated to wholesale trade between fishermen and fish merchants, or to the sale of seafood to individual consumers, or to both. Retail fish markets, a type of wet mar ...

was then located at the site. It represents one of the so-called Skovser Women who, wearing their traditional garments, used to dominate the market trade. The fish market closed in 1958.

Description

The granite statue measures . The fishwife is depicted wearing an apron, shawl and scarf. She holds a

plaice Plaice is a common name for a group of flatfish that comprises four species: the European, American, Alaskan and scale-eye plaice. Commercially, the most important plaice is the European. The principal commercial flatfish in Europe, it is al ...

in her right hand.

History

Copenhagen's principal fishmarket was for centuries situated at Gammel Strand. The statue was donated to the city by the Foundation for the Promotion of Art in the City (Fonden for kunstneriske Formåls Fremme). It was created by Charles Svejstrup Madsen; (1883-1946). The statue was unveiled on 12 November 1940. The newspaper

Berlingske Tidende ''Berlingske'', previously known as ''Berlingske Tidende'' (, ''Berling's Times''), is a Danish national daily newspaper based in Copenhagen. It is considered a newspaper of record for Denmark. First published on 3 January 1749, ''Berlingske'' ...

brought an incidental poem by ), published under his pseudonym Ærbødigst (lit. "Your's sincerely"), entitled “There’s Nothing Like Change”:

Art must be brought/ to the people./ This is a programme/ that is interpreted so/ that lots of /statues are raised/ on all greenswards /and open spaces./ A fishwife/ of six thousand kilos,/ that’s to say no real/ Venus de Milo/ can be admired/by later generations/ on the Fish Market/ at Gammel Strand./ She has cost a great deal/ in purely monetary terms/ but on the other hand women are/immortal. People die, fish die,/ but the fishwife lives,/ she can easily last/ a hundred years./ And although she’s really/ not bad/ the sight of her/ makes one think:/ One could avoid/ paying for the very costly/material,/ and it would perhaps/ please many/ if statues/ were made of snow./The city would lose nothing./ A little variety/ would be created,/ and the artists/ would have more to do, which of course/ can also be important./In winter,/ when all nature sleeps,/ we would have art/ to delight in./ In summer we have/ the green trees/ and then we have no need/ of works of art here.

The statue was removed in 2011 in conjunction with the construction of the Gammel Strand metro station. It was later temporarily installed at Sydhavn station. In September 2018, it returned to Gammel Strand.

References

External links

{{Public art in Copenhagen Outdoor sculptures in Copenhagen Sculptures of women in Copenhagen Granite sculptures in Copenhagen 1940 sculptures