Emil Jens Baumann Adolf Jerichau (17 April 1816 – 25 July 1883) was a Danish sculptor. He belonged to the generation immediately after Bertel Thorvaldsen, for whom he worked briefly in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, but gradually moved away from the static Neoclassicism he inherited from him and towards a more dynamic and realistic style. He was a professor 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 ...

and its director from 1857 to 1863.

Early life and career

Statue of Hans Christian Øersted, Øerstedsparken, Copenhagen

Jens Adolf Jerichau was born in Assens on the Danish island of

Funen Funen ( da, Fyn, ), with an area of , is the third-largest island of Denmark, after Zealand and Vendsyssel-Thy. It is the 165th-largest island in the world. It is located in the central part of the country and has a population of 469,947 as of ...

to grocer and lieutenant Carl Christian Jerichau and his wife Karen Birch. He worked in a painter's apprenticeship for one and a half years before traveling to Copenhagen where he was admitted to the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in 1831. He was accepted into the model school in 1833 and continued to the painting school, at the same time studying privately with painter

Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg (2 January 1783 – 22 July 1853) was a Danish painter. He was born in Blåkrog in the Southern Jutland region of Denmark. He went on to lay the foundation for the period of art known as the Golden Age of Da ...

after winning both silver medals. Then in 1836 he started sculpting with German-born sculptor

Hermann Ernst Freund Hermann Ernst Freund (15 October 1786, in Uthlede, Lower Saxony – 30 June 1840, in Copenhagen) was a German-born Danish sculptor. He is remembered in particular for his figures from Nordic mythology and for the Ragnarok Frieze. Biography Bor ...

Years in Rome

David Jacobsen - The Sculptor Jens Adolph Jerichau in his Studio in Rome - KMS7094 - Statens Museum for Kunst

After graduating from the Academy in 1837, Jerichau traveled to Rome where he initially worked for around a year in Bertel Thorvaldsen's studio. His early works such as the sculpture '' Hercules and Hebe'' (1846, original model in the

Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek The Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek ("ny" means "new" in Danish; "Glyptotek" comes from the Greek root ''glyphein'', to carve, and ''theke'', storing place), commonly known simply as Glyptoteket, is an art museum in Copenhagen, Denmark. The collection ...

) as well as his colossal Christ figure from 1849 are in a strong Neoclassical style which bear clear testament to Thorvaldsen. He established his calling through a

bas-relief Relief is a sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces are bonded to a solid background of the same material. The term '' relief'' is from the Latin verb ''relevo'', to raise. To create a sculpture in relief is to give the impression that th ...

on a frieze in the royal palace

Christiansborg Christiansborg Palace ( da, Christiansborg Slot; ) is a palace and government building on the islet of Slotsholmen in central Copenhagen, Denmark. It is the seat of the Danish Parliament ('), the Danish Prime Minister's Office, and the Supreme ...

in Copenhagen, depicting the marriage of

Alexander the Great Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip II to ...

to Roxane. Completed in 1864, it was later burned as were a number of his most famous works which were damaged or ruined in a fire in the Christiansborg Palace in 1884.''New York Times'' (July 26, 1883) "Obituary"

Finding his own style

With his sculpture group ''

Penelope Penelope ( ; Ancient Greek: Πηνελόπεια, ''Pēnelópeia'', or el, Πηνελόπη, ''Pēnelópē'') is a character in Homer's ''Odyssey.'' She was the queen of Ithaca and was the daughter of Spartan king Icarius and naiad Periboea. Pe ...

'' (1845–46, Danish National Gallery), which won international acclaim, he moved away from the static Neoclassicism and towards a more dramatic and dynamic style. He created also formed depictions of nature, such as ''The Panther Hunter'' (1846, Danish National Gallery). Among his more notable works would be Hans Christian Ørsted Monument dedicated to physicist Hans Christian Ørsted. The monument was cast in bronze on a base of granite. At the foot of the statue sit the three Norns of Norse mythology; Urðr (the past), Verðandi (the present) and Skuld (the future). Situated at

Ørstedsparken Ørstedsparken is a public park in central Copenhagen, Denmark. One in a series of parks which were laid out on the grounds of the old fortification ring after it was decommissioned in the 1870s, the park still retains elements from the old fortif ...

in central Copenhagen, the monument was inaugurated in 1876.

Family

Jerichau married the painter

Elisabeth Jerichau-Baumann Anna Maria Elisabeth Lisinska Jerichau-Baumann (21 November 1819 – 11 July 1881) was a Polish-Danish painter. She was married to the sculptor Jens Adolf Jerichau. Early life and career Elisabeth Jerichau-Baumann was born in Żoliborz (Fr ...

and they had 9 children. They were the parents of composer Thorald Jerichau, and landscape artists Harald Jerichau and Holger H. Jerichau. Jens Adolf Jerichau died in Copenhagen and was buried at

Solbjerg Park Cemetery Solbjerg Park Cemetery ( da, Solbjerg Parkkirkegård) Is a 19-hectare cemetery in Frederiksberg in the western outskirts of inner Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1865, it is one of three cemeteries in Frederiksberg Municipality Frederiksberg Ko ...

Selected works

*''Adam and Eve before the Fall'' (1863)

, Copenhagen * ''Standing Goat'' (1845) Danish National Gallery, Copenhagen *''Bathing Girls'' (1862) Danish National Gallery, Copenhagen * ''Sleeping Reaper'' (1852) Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen *''Little Girl with a Dead Bird'' (1871)

, Copenhagen *''The Panther Hunter'' (1846) Danish National Gallery, Copenhagen * ''Slave Girl'' (1860) Danish National Gallery, Copenhagen

Public art

* H. C. Ørsted Memorial (1871) at Ørsted Park 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 ...

* Crucifix (1854) Jesus Church,

Valby Valby () is one of the 10 official districts of Copenhagen, Denmark. It is in the southwestern corner of Copenhagen Municipality, and has a mixture of different types of housing. This includes apartment blocks, terraced housing, areas with single ...

, Copenhagen * ''King David'' (1860) Church of Our Lady, Copenhagen

Bibliography

*Nicolaj Bøgh, ''Erindringer af og om Jens Adolf Jerichau'' (1884).

References

External links

Jens Adolf Jerichau
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:Jerichau, Jens Adolf 1816 births 1883 deaths 19th-century Danish sculptors 19th-century male artists People from Assens Municipality Academic staff of the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts alumni Directors of the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts Recipients of the Thorvaldsen Medal