Frederik V on Horseback

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Frederik V on Horseback

Frederik 5 Amalienborgplads Copenhagen Denmark.jpg

Equestrian bronze statue of King Frederik V created by the French sculptor Jacques Saly.
Artist Jacques Saly
Year 1768 (1768)
Medium Bronze [1]
Subject Frederik V on horseback
Location Copenhagen

Frederik V on Horseback is a sculpture located in the center of Amalienborg Square, Copenhagen, framed by the four symmetrical wings of the Amalienborg palace. [2] The statue represents Frederick V of Denmark in classic attire, crowned with laurels and with his hand outstretched, holding a baton. [3] Commissioned by the Danish East India Company, it was designed in Neoclassical style by Jacques Saly in 1768 and was cast in bronze in 1771. [4] The apparent dignity and tranquility in the depiction of the king is typical of Danish representations of monarchs. [5] It is considered to be one of the notable equestrian monuments of its time. [6]

Danish sculpture

Danish sculpture as a nationally recognized art form can be traced back to 1752 when Jacques Saly was commissioned to execute a statue of King Frederick V of Denmark on horseback. While Bertel Thorvaldsen was undoubtedly the country's most prominent contributor, many other players have produced fine work, especially in the areas of Neoclassicism, Realism, and in Historicism, the latter resulting from growing consciousness of a national identity. More recently, Danish sculpture has been inspired by European trends, especially those from Paris, including Surrealism and Modernism.

Copenhagen Capital of Denmark

Copenhagen is the capital and most populous city of Denmark. As of July 2018, the city has a population of 777,218. It forms the core of the wider urban area of Copenhagen and the Copenhagen metropolitan area. Copenhagen is situated on the eastern coast of the island of Zealand; another small portion of the city is located on Amager, and is separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the strait of Øresund. The Øresund Bridge connects the two cities by rail and road.

Amalienborg Palace and home of the Danish royal family

Amalienborg is the home of the Danish royal family, and is located in Copenhagen, Denmark. It consists of four identical classical palace façades with rococo interiors around an octagonal courtyard ; in the centre of the square is a monumental equestrian statue of Amalienborg's founder, King Frederick V.

Contents

Background

In 1752 Saly was commissioned to create a sculpture of King Frederick V of Denmark on horseback, to be placed in the center of the courtyard of Amalienborg Palace. The equestrian statue was commissioned by Adam Gottlob Moltke, head of the Asiatic Company, as a gift to the king. But while Moltke’s company offered to finance the statue, it was the government who chose the sculptor. Count Johan Hartvig Ernst Bernstorff wrote to the Danish Legation secretary to the French Court in Paris, Joachim Wasserschlebe, to find a suitable French sculptor. Sculptor Edmé Bouchardon rejected the offer, but suggested Saly, who wanted a significant sum for the model and free housing in Copenhagen. The government concluded the contract with Saly in Spring 1752, but because of conflict with ongoing projects Saly did not arrive in Denmark until 8 October 1753, bringing with him his parents, his two sisters, and at least one assistant. Work began on the monument that same year. [7]

Frederick V of Denmark King of Denmark and Norway

Frederick V was king of Denmark–Norway and Duke of Schleswig-Holstein from 1746 until his death. He was the son of Christian VI of Denmark and Sophie Magdalene of Brandenburg-Kulmbach.

Adam Gottlob Moltke Danish art collector, politician and diplomat

Count Adam Gottlob Moltke was a Danish courtier, statesman and diplomat, and Favourite of Frederick V of Denmark. Moltke was born at Riesenhof in Mecklenburg. His son, Joachim Godske Moltke, and his grandson, Adam Wilhelm Moltke, later served as Prime Minister of Denmark.

Joachim Wasserschlebe German-Danish diplomat and politician

Joachim Wasserschlebe was a German-Danish diplomat, politician, councillor, patron of the arts and art collector.

Saly showed the king the first sketch of the equestrian statue on 4 December 1754. The king approved a sketch for the whole monument in August 1755, after which Saly began a thorough study of horses from the king’s stalls. This resulted in a small model, which he showed the king in November 1758. Casts of this model are found in both the collection of the Academy and the State Collection, now the Danish National Gallery. After having set up an appropriate studio, Saly carried out the work on the large model of the equestrian statue from 1761 to 1763. The plaster cast was presented to the Academy members on 3 February 1764. The king also saw this model. Preparations for the bronze casting took four more years, and Frenchman Pierre Gors did the casting on 2 March 1768. The year 1768 is officially considered the statue’s completion date. [7]

The statue

J. M. Preisler's engraving (1769) Preisler's engraving of Saly's equestrian statue.jpg
J. M. Preisler's engraving (1769)

The bronze was cast on 2 March 1768 by Frenchman Pierre Gors and weighed some 22 tons. [8] Another three years were spent on finishing the work, which was inaugurated in 1771. Including the base, the statue reaches a height of almost 12 m (39 ft). Saly reported he had been inspired by the equestrian statue of Marcus Aurelius in Rome as well as by Giambologna's equestrian Henry IV on the Pont Neuf in Paris. But perhaps his greatest inspiration was Edmé Bouchardon's Louis XV (destroyed during the French Revolution) in Place Louis XV, now the Place de la Concorde. It had just been completed when Saly left for Denmark. [9]

Equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius sculpture

The Equestrian Statue of Marcus Aurelius is an ancient Roman statue in the Capitoline Hill, Rome, Italy. It is made of bronze and stands 4.24 m tall. Although the emperor is mounted, it exhibits many similarities to standing statues of Augustus. The original is on display in the Capitoline Museums, with the one now standing in the open air of the Piazza del Campidoglio being a replica made in 1981 when the original was taken down for restoration.

Giambologna Italian sculptor

Giambologna — — was a Flemish sculptor based in Italy, celebrated for his marble and bronze statuary in a late Renaissance or Mannerist style.

Edmé Bouchardon French artist

Edmé Bouchardon was a French sculptor best known for his neoclassical statues in the gardens of the Palace of Versailles, his medals, his equestrian statue of Louis XV of France for the Place de la Concorde (destroyed during the French Revolution; and for the Fountain of Four Seasons in Paris. He was also a draftsman and painter, and made s celebrated series of engravings of working-class Parisians.

Saly first modelled a lifelike portrait of the King. He made a few small bronze castings, the last of which was approved by Frederik V in 1755. Saly then went on to study horses in the royal stables. In 1758, he prepared a model about a meter in height, which the king applauded. Copies still exist in Copenhagen's museums. The King's portrait, where he is depicted as a Roman emperor capped with laurels, has however been lost. [9]

Engraving and medals

Johan Martin Preisler made a large engraving of the equestrian statue (1769) in commemoration of its completion. [10] The Danish Asiatic Company cast two medallions, one by Johan Henrik Wolff [11] and the other by Daniel Jensen Adzer. [12] The base for the statue was delivered first, in 1770, while the unveiling of the statue itself finally took place in the courtyard at Amalienborg Palace on 1 August 1771, five years after the King’s death in 1766. It commands the site still. [7] The statue's base was renovated in 1997-1998. [13]

Johan Martin Preisler was a German engraver, most notable for his work in Denmark. He was the son of the painter Johannes Daniel Preisler and Anna Felicitas, making him the younger brother of the painter Johann Justin Preisler and the painter and engraver Georg Martin Preisler. The family came from Bohemia.

Danish Culture Canon

In the 21st century, the Danish Culture Canon's committee for the visual arts pointed out that the statue, which took 14 years to complete, cost more than Amalienborg's four palatial buildings which surround it. It was considered to be the jewel of that exquisite environment, an entity which could only be created at the time. It has been preserved unaltered to this day, unlike many similar bronzes, which were melted down for weapons. [14] The painting Amalienborg Square, Copenhagen by Vilhelm Hammershøi places the statue in a central, monumental role.

See also

Related Research Articles

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References

  1. ↑ The Edinburgh gazetteer: or Geographical dictionary. Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown and Green. 1827. p. 333.
  2. ↑ Doubleday, Nelson; Cooley, C. Earl (1961). Encyclopedia of world travel. Doubleday. p. 117. Retrieved 19 January 2013.
  3. ↑ American Architect and Building News: 1890 (Public domain ed.). James R. Osgood & Company. 1890. pp. 167–. Retrieved 19 January 2013.
  4. ↑ Sitwell, Sacheverell (1956). Denmark. London: Bloomsbury Publishing. pp. 44–. ISBN   978-1-4482-0339-0 . Retrieved 19 January 2013.
  5. ↑ Gaze, Delia (1 July 1997). Dictionary of Women Artists. Taylor & Francis. pp. 348–. ISBN   978-1-884964-21-3 . Retrieved 19 January 2013.
  6. ↑ Chastel-Rousseau, Charlotte (1 March 2011). Reading the Royal Monument in Eighteenth-Century Europe. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. pp. 108, 124–. ISBN   978-0-7546-5575-6 . Retrieved 19 January 2013.
  7. 1 2 3 Bent Sørensen, "Jacques François Joseph Saly", Kunstindeks Danmark & Weilbacks kunstnerleksikon. (in Danish) Retrieved 20 January 2013.
  8. ↑ Meilby, Mogens (1996). Journalistikkens grundtrin : fra ide til artikel (in Danish). Forlaget Ajour. p. 262. ISBN   978-87-89235-22-6 . Retrieved 24 January 2013.
  9. 1 2 Jens Fleischer, "Amalienborg Slotsplads". (in Danish) Retrieved 21 January 2012.
  10. ↑ "J.M. Preisler", Dankse Biografisk Leksikon. (in Danish) Retrieved 30 January 2013.
  11. ↑ Galster, Georg (1936). Danske og norske Medailler og Jetons ca. 1533 – ca. 1788 (in Danish). Copenhagen: Selskabet for Udgivelse af danske Mindesmærker. pp. 334–349.
  12. ↑ Ph. Weilbach, "Saly, Jacques François Joseph", Dansk Biografisk Leksikon, (Runeberg) page 582. (in Danish) Retrieved 30 January 2013.
  13. ↑ "Rytterstatuen", Slotte & Kulturegendomme. (in Danish) Retrieved 20 January 2013.
  14. ↑ "Frederik V" Archived December 11, 2012, at the Wayback Machine ., Kulturkanonen. (in Danish) Retrieved 20 January 2013.

Coordinates: 55°41′02″N12°35′35″E / 55.68389°N 12.59306°E / 55.68389; 12.59306

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