Otto Frederik Theobald Evens (16 February 1826 - 21 November 1895) was a Danish sculptor.

Early life and education

Evens was born in

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 ...

, the son of brazier Thomas Mandix Evens (1791-1870) and his wife Ane Margrethe Frederiksen (1790-1853). He was articled to his father and later J. Dalhoff. In 1843, he was admitted to 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 Dani ...

and became an assistant in

Herman Wilhelm Bissen Herman Wilhelm Bissen (13 October 1798 – 10 March 1868) was a Denmark, Danish sculptor. Biography Bissen was born at Schleswig in the Duchy of Schleswig. He was the son of Christian Gottlieb Wilhelm Bissen (1766-1847), a farmer, and Anna ...

's studio when he was in his twenties. He won the academy's small silver medal in 1846, its large silver medal in 1849 and the small gold medal in 1851 for ''Thetis bønfalder Vulkan om Vaaben til Achilles''. In 1857, after several unsuccessful attempts, he won the Neuhausen Prize for the group sculpture ''Maternal Love'' (''Moderkærlighed''). He spent a couple of months in Paris in 1856 and was in Italy in 1858–61 on a stipend from the academy. In 1865, he returned to Italy on a grant from the Ancher Foundation (Det Ancherske Legat).

Career

Evens belonged to the group of sculptors who, with Bissen and H. E. Freund, continued the Neoclassical tradition from

Bertel Thorvaldsen Bertel Thorvaldsen (; 19 November 1770 – 24 March 1844) was a Danes, Danish and Icelanders, Icelandic Sculpture, sculptor medallist, medalist of international fame, who spent most of his life (1797–1838) in Italy. Thorvaldsen was born in ...

but gradually represented the transition to Naturalism. Evens remained a minor figure in Danish sculpture. His works include a memorial to Ewald and Wessel at

Trinitatis Church The Trinitatis Church (''Trinitatis Kirke'') is located in central Copenhagen, Denmark. It is part of the 17th century Trinitatis Complex, which includes the Rundetårn astronomical observatory tower and the Copenhagen University Library, in addi ...

in Copenhagen (1879). He also contributed to the decoration of the Marble Church with the statue of Hieronymus and created the group sculpture ''Faun and en Satyr'' for the complex at Gammeltorv in

Aalborg Aalborg (, , ) is Denmark's fourth largest town (behind Copenhagen, Aarhus, and Odense) with a population of 119,862 (1 July 2022) in the town proper and an urban population of 143,598 (1 July 2022). As of 1 July 2022, the Municipality of Aalb ...

(1850) and ''A Neapolitan Fisherman Teaches His Son to Play the Flute'' for

Store Strandstræde Store Strandstræde (literally "Great Beach Alley") is a street in Copenhagen, Denmark. It extends diagonally from Kongens Nytorv, at the corner of Nyhavn and Bredgade, to Sankt Annæ Plads. Lille Strandstræde ("Small Beach Alley") joins the stree ...

in Copenhagen and on Rustenborgvej in Lyngby-Taarbæk (1861). He also created two memorials to Caroline Amalie (1882 in Sorgenfri Palace Park, Lyngby-Taarbæk and Frederik VII which was installed on the marketplaces in Give (1868),

Næstved Næstved () is a town in the municipality of the same name, located in the southern part of the island of Zealand in Denmark. Næstved has several adult education centers, five elementary schools - and has at least one of each type of the four ...

(1870) and

Sorø Sorø () is a town in Sorø municipality in Region Sjælland on the island of Zealand (''Sjælland'') in east Denmark. The population is 7,999 (2022).

(1877). He has also portrayed a number of historical figures, including Saxo and Snorre,

Herluf Trolle Herluf Trolle (14 January 1516 – 25 June 1565) was a Danish naval hero, Admiral of the Fleet and co-founder of Herlufsholm School (''Herlufsholm Skole og Gods''), a private boarding school at Næstved on the island of Zealand in Denmark. ...

Birgitte Gøye Birgitte Gøye (1511 - 26 July 1574) was a Danish county administrator, lady in waiting, landholder and noble, co-founder and principal of Herlufsholm School. Biography She was the daughter of Mogens Gøye and Mette Bydelsbak and the sister ...

, Arild Hvidtfeldt, Griffenfeld and Niels Juel.

Personal life

Evens never married. He died in 1895 and is buried in

Assistens Cemetery Assistens Cemetery ( da, Assistens Kirkegård) is the name of a number of cemeteries in Denmark. The common nominator is, as the first part of the name implies (Latin: ''assistens'' meaning assisting), an assisting cemetery for a town's churches. ...

Selected works

Public art and memorials

* ''Boy With Goat'',

Frederikssundsvej Frederikssundsvej is a major artery in the North-West, Brønshøj and Husum districts of Copenhagen, Denmark. It begins at Nørrebro Station as the direct continuation of Nørrebrogade and changes its name to Herlev Hovedgade and then Skovlunde Byv ...

, Copenhagen (1854) * ''A Neapolitan Fisherman Teaches His Son to Play the Flute'',

, Copenhagen (1861). Rustenborgvej, Lyngby-Taarbæk * Monument to

Johannes Ewald Johannes Ewald (18 November 174317 March 1781) was a Danish national dramatist, psalm writer and poet. The lyrics of a song from one of his plays are used for one of the Danish national anthems, ''Kong Christian stod ved højen mast'' which ...

and

Johan Herman Wessel Johan Herman Wessel (6 October 1742 – 29 December 1785) was an 18th-century Danish-Norwegian poet, satirist and playwright. His written work was characterized by the use of parody and satiric wit. Biography Wessel was born and raised at Vest ...

, Trinitatis Church square, Copenhagen (1879) * Memorial to Caroline Amalie, Sorgenfri Palace Park, Lyngby-Taarbæk (1882) * Memorial to Frederik VII, Give (1868),

(1870) and

Sorø Sorø () is a town in Sorø municipality in Region Sjælland on the island of Zealand (''Sjælland'') in east Denmark. The population is 7,999 (2022).

(1877). * Tomb of N.J. Marstrand and his wife,(

, Copenhagen) * Font, Church of Our Lady ( Vor Frue Kirke (Svendborg)) * Memorial to

Peder Skram Peder Skram (died 11 July 1581) was a Danish Admiral and naval hero. Biography Skram born between 1491 and 1503, on his father's estate at Urup near Horsens in Jutland, Denmark. He participated in military service during the Swedish War of L ...

, Østbirk Kirke (1886)

Other works

* ''Thetis bønfalder Hefaistos om Vaaben til Achilles'' Royal Danish Academy (plaster relief, 1851)

Image gallery

Image:Store Strandstræde - statue.jpg, ''A Neapolitan Fisherman Teaches His Son to Play the Flute'' Image:Otto Evens-Dreng med ged--Copenhagen.jpg, ''Boy With Goat'' Image:Trinitatis Kirke - Wessel and Ewald.jpg, Monument to Ewald and Wessel Image:ChrHavnPeterNordenSoelling.jpg, PeterNordenSoelling memorial, Bombebøssen, Copenhagen

References

External links

Otto Evens
at

Kunstindeks Danmark ''Weilbachs Kunstnerleksikon'' (Weilbach's Biographical Dictionary of Artists) is a Danish biographical dictionary of artists and architects. The current edition, which is also freely accessible online, contains the biographies of some 8,000 Danis ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Evens, Otto 1826 births 1895 deaths 19th-century Danish sculptors 19th-century male artists Artists from Copenhagen