Niels Hansen Jacobsen (September 10, 1861 – November 26, 1941) 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 a ...

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

and ceramist. He is most famous for creating the once controversial sculpture, '' Trold, der vejrer kristenblod''. The name of the statue is taken from a story in Norse folklore where the hero hides in the troll's castle. Thereafter, whenever the troll enters the castle, he cries: "I smell a Christian man's blood!"

Biography

Niels Hansen Jacobsen was born and grew up on a farm in

Vejen Vejen with a population of 10,009 (1 January 2022) is the main town in Vejen Municipality, Denmark. Geography The town is situated in the Danish region of Syddanmark and is a railway town at the railway between the cities of Kolding and Esbjerg. ...

. He was the son of Carl Peter Jacobsen (1819-1903) and Anna Kirstine Hansen (1822–91). He attended 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 ...

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 ...

between the years 1884-1888. At the Academy of Art, he received drawing lessons from

Frederik Vermehren Johan Frederik (Frits) Nikolai Vermehren, also known as Frederik Vermehren (12 May 1823 – 10 January 1910), a genre and portrait painter in the realist style. His artistic career took place during the period of Danish art known as the Golden ...

and

Carl Bloch Carl Heinrich Bloch (23 May 1834 – 22 February 1890) was a Danish artist. Biography He was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, and studied there at the Royal Danish Academy of Art (''Det Kongelige Danske Kunstakademi'') under Wilhelm Marstrand ...

, while the sculptor

Theobald Stein Theobald Stein (7 February 1829 – 16 November 1901) was a Danish sculptor. He was a professor at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts and served as its director from 1883 to 1886. Among his most well-known works are the Niels Juel statue ...

taught anatomy and

Vilhelm Bissen Christian Gottlieb Vilhelm Bissen (5 August 1836 – 20 April 1913) was a Danish sculptor. He was also a professor at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts with great influence on the next generation of Danish sculptors and for a while serv ...

in modeling. He 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 1889. 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 a grant which led him to travel to

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Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

during 1891. In 1892, Hansen Jacobsen settled in

Paris Paris () is the capital and 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), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

. From the mid-1890s, Hansen Jacobsen had also started working with ceramics. In 1902, Hansen Jacobsen returned to Denmark. In the years following his return to Denmark, a new field of work came to fill much in his production: cutting grave and memorial stones. In 1908, he returned to work on sculpture. In 1913, Hansen Jacobsen erected a studio at Skibelund Krat near

Askov Askov is a city in Pine County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 364 at the 2010 census. Minnesota State Highway 23 serves as a main route in the community, and Interstate 35 is nearby. History The village was originally within ...

. Between 1923-24, a museum was built for the works of Hansen Jacobsen at the site of his birthplace. The museum was inaugurated on July 1, 1924 and is today the

Vejen Art Museum Vejen Art Museum ( da, Vejen Kunstmuseum) is an art gallery in Vejen Municipality in the south of Jutland, Denmark. It specializes in works from the end of the 19th century in styles including Symbolism and Art Nouveau. Created in 1924 to hou ...

(''Vejen Kunstmuseum''). Vejen Kunstmuseum 2015 a

Work

Existential themes such as freedom and time affect Niels Hansen Jacobsen throughout much of his sculptures. With his imaginative and strangely symbolic sculptures, Hansen Jacobsen gave form to abstract phenomena such as death, night and shadow.

Personal life

In 1891, he married Anna Gabriele Rohde (1862-1902). In 1908, he married Kaja Jørgensen (1882-1928). In 1936, he was awarded 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 ...

. He died during 1941 and was buried at Vejen Church.

Gallery

File:Skyggen.jpg, ''Skyggen'' (1897–98) File:Dryaden.jpg, ''Dryaden'' (1918) File:Døden og moderen.JPG, ''Døden og moderen'' (1892) File:Niels Hansen Jacobsen - Anna Kirstine Hansen.jpg, Bust of Jacobsen's mother File:Niels Hansen Jacobsen 1908- Carl Peter Jacobsen.jpg, Bust of Jacobsen's father

References

Other sources

*Teresa Nielsen (2011) ''NHJ : Niels Hansen Jacobsen'' (Vejen Kunstmuseum) *Herman Madsen; Niels Th. Mortensen (1990) ''Dansk Skulptur'' (Odense: Skandinavisk Bogforlag )

External links

1861 births 1941 deaths 20th-century Danish sculptors Male sculptors 19th-century sculptors 19th-century Danish ceramists 20th-century Danish ceramists People from Vejen Municipality Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts alumni Recipients of the Thorvaldsen Medal Recipients of the Eckersberg Medal Danish male artists 20th-century Danish male artists {{Denmark-sculptor-stub