Henrik Starcke (16 April 1899 – 5 June 1973) was a Danish sculptor who created fanciful creatures based on his interest in ancient art.

Biography

Born in Copenhagen, he was the son of the politician and philosopher Carl Nicolai Starcke. He was brought up in a highly cultured environment as his mother was very musical and his father was an accomplished amateur wood carver. Following his father's wishes, he first began to study medicine before studying painting under Ejnar Nielsen 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 Dan ...

(1920–24). In 1925 in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

, he married the textile artist Dagmar Kaae (1899–1975). Taking a special interest in ancient art, he travelled widely in the 1920s and 1930s to France, Italy, Greece, Egypt and England. From 1929, he abandoned painting in favour of sculpture. As a sculptor, he was inventive and imaginative, often working with unusual materials such as flint, gravel, brick and rusty nails. His works include two large reliefs at Vestre Cemetery, ''Begravelse'' (Burial, 1940–49) and ''Opstandelse'' (Resurrection, 1948–49), and ''Dronning Dagmar'' (Queen Dagmar) together with

Steen Eiler Rasmussen Steen Eiler Rasmussen, Hon. FAIA (9 January 1898 – 19 June 1990) was a Danish architect and urban planner who was a professor at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, and a prolific writer of books and poetry. He was made a Royal Designer ...

in Ringsted's churchyard.

Awards

In 1940 he was awarded the

Eckersberg Medal The Eckersberg Medal (originally the ''Akademiets Aarsmedaille'' or Annual Academy Medal) is an annual award of the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts. It is named after Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg, known as the father of Danish painting. The Ec ...

and in 1960, the

Thorvaldsen Medal The Thorvaldsen Medal ( Danish: Thorvaldsens Medalje, Thorvaldsen Medaillen) is awarded annually with few exceptions to a varying number of recipients by the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts and is its highest distinction within the visual arts. I ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Starcke, Henrik 1899 births 1973 deaths Danish sculptors Danish male artists Artists from Copenhagen Recipients of the Thorvaldsen Medal Recipients of the Eckersberg Medal Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts alumni 20th-century sculptors Male sculptors