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Hermann Ernst Freund (15 October 1786 – 30 June 1840) was a German-born Danish sculptor. He is remembered in particular for his figures from
''Den Store Danske''. Retrieved 3 February 2012. On returning to Copenhagen, he organized the decoration of Church of Our Lady, preparing models for the figures of the 12 apostles but in the end Thorvaldsen received the commission. His masterpiece, the Ragnarok Frieze, which occupied him for many years, was completed by Herman Wilhelm Bissen after his death but was later destroyed by the Christianborg fire in 1884. There is a plaster cast of part of the frieze in Statens Museum for Kunst.Jens Peter Munk, "Hermann Ernst Freund"
''Kunstindeks Danmark & Weilbachs kunstnerleksikon''. Retrieved 3 February 2012. The largest collection of his works is to be found at the Glyptotek in Copenhagen.Jens Peter Munk, "Hermann Ernst Freund"
''Kunstindeks Danmark & Weilbachs kunstnerleksikon''. Retrieved 3 February 2012. In 1829, Freund became a professor at the Academy. Inspired by time he spent in the south of Italy, Freund had his official home, Materialgaard, decorated in Pompeiian style. Young artists such as Georg Hilker, Heinrich Eddelien, Constantin Hansen and Christen Købke completed the work using Freund's designs.
File:Thor (1829) by H. E. Freund.jpg, Hermann Ernst Freund: ''Thor'' (1829)
File:Nordenskirker Faaborg17.jpg, Hermann Ernst Freund: Font in Faaborg Church
File:Odin (1825-1827) by H. E. Freund.jpg, Hermann Ernst Freund: ''Odin'' (1828)
File:Lars Pedersen af Sæbyes gravminde.jpg, Jens Pedersen Memorial at Sæby Church, Hornsherred (1833)
Images of The Ragnarok Frieze
{{DEFAULTSORT:Freund, Hermann Ernst 1786 births 1840 deaths Sculptors from Copenhagen Artists from Bremen (city) Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts alumni 19th-century Danish sculptors Emigrants from the Holy Roman Empire to Denmark–Norway Academic staff of the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts Danish male sculptors 19th-century Danish male artists Emigrants from the Holy Roman Empire
Nordic mythology
Norse, Nordic, or Scandinavian mythology, is the body of myths belonging to the North Germanic peoples, stemming from Old Norse religion and continuing after the Christianization of Scandinavia as the Nordic folklore of the modern period. The ...
and for the Ragnarok Frieze.
Biography
Born nearBremen
Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (, ), is the capital of the States of Germany, German state of the Bremen (state), Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (), a two-city-state consisting of the c ...
, Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...
, Freund was trained as a smith before studying at the Art Academy
An art school is an educational institution with a primary focus on practice and related theory in the visual arts and design. This includes fine art – especially illustration, painting, contemporary art, sculpture, and graphic design. T ...
in Copenhagen where he was awarded all four silver and gold medals. After graduating, he spent 10 years in Rome where he became Bertel Thorvaldsen
Albert Bertel Thorvaldsen (; sometimes given as Thorwaldsen; 19 November 1770 – 24 March 1844) was a Danes, Danish-Icelanders, Icelandic Sculpture, sculptor and medallist, medalist of international fame, who spent most of his life (1797–183 ...
's closest assistant as can be seen in his marble bust of Bernhard Severin Ingemann (1820). An early proponent of romantic nationalism
Romantic nationalism (also national romanticism, organic nationalism, identity nationalism) is the form of nationalism in which the state claims its political legitimacy as an organic consequence of the unity of those it governs. This includes ...
, Freund was the first Danish sculptor to work with Nordic mythology
Norse, Nordic, or Scandinavian mythology, is the body of myths belonging to the North Germanic peoples, stemming from Old Norse religion and continuing after the Christianization of Scandinavia as the Nordic folklore of the modern period. The ...
, creating 12 statuettes including Loki
Loki is a Æsir, god in Norse mythology. He is the son of Fárbauti (a jötunn) and Laufey (mythology), Laufey (a goddess), and the brother of Helblindi and Býleistr. Loki is married to the goddess Sigyn and they have two sons, Narfi (son of Lo ...
(1822), Odin
Odin (; from ) is a widely revered god in Norse mythology and Germanic paganism. Most surviving information on Odin comes from Norse mythology, but he figures prominently in the recorded history of Northern Europe. This includes the Roman Em ...
(bronze 1827) and Thor
Thor (from ) is a prominent list of thunder gods, god in Germanic paganism. In Norse mythology, he is a hammer-wielding æsir, god associated with lightning, thunder, storms, sacred trees and groves in Germanic paganism and mythology, sacred g ...
(1829), all inspired by ancient Greek and Roman mythological works."H.E. Freund"''Den Store Danske''. Retrieved 3 February 2012. On returning to Copenhagen, he organized the decoration of Church of Our Lady, preparing models for the figures of the 12 apostles but in the end Thorvaldsen received the commission. His masterpiece, the Ragnarok Frieze, which occupied him for many years, was completed by Herman Wilhelm Bissen after his death but was later destroyed by the Christianborg fire in 1884. There is a plaster cast of part of the frieze in Statens Museum for Kunst.
''Kunstindeks Danmark & Weilbachs kunstnerleksikon''. Retrieved 3 February 2012.
''Kunstindeks Danmark & Weilbachs kunstnerleksikon''. Retrieved 3 February 2012. In 1829, Freund became a professor at the Academy. Inspired by time he spent in the south of Italy, Freund had his official home, Materialgaard, decorated in Pompeiian style. Young artists such as Georg Hilker, Heinrich Eddelien, Constantin Hansen and Christen Købke completed the work using Freund's designs.
Gallery
See also
* Danish sculpture * Mimir and Balder Consult the NornsReferences
External links
Images of The Ragnarok Frieze
{{DEFAULTSORT:Freund, Hermann Ernst 1786 births 1840 deaths Sculptors from Copenhagen Artists from Bremen (city) Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts alumni 19th-century Danish sculptors Emigrants from the Holy Roman Empire to Denmark–Norway Academic staff of the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts Danish male sculptors 19th-century Danish male artists Emigrants from the Holy Roman Empire