Statue of Frederick VI

Last updated
Statue of Frederick VI
Statue of Frederick VI.jpg
Bronze statue of King Frederick VI at the entrance to Frederiksberg Park
Artist Herman Wilhelm Bissen
Year1858 (1858)
Medium Bronze
SubjectFrederick VI
Location Copenhagen

The statue of Frederick VI greets visitors just inside the main entrance to Frederiksberg Park at Frederiksberg Runddel in the Frederiksberg district of Copenhagen, Denmark. Unveiled on 10 September 1858, the bronze statue was created by Herman Wilhelm Bissen and is considered one of his best works. It is the first public depiction of a Danish monarch in everyday, contemporary attire, rather than that of antiquity, or galla uniform, popular in earlier sculpture.

Contents

Design

Frontal view of the statue Frederik 6.jpg
Frontal view of the statue

The statue offers a down-to-earth portrail of Frederick VI. He is not mounted on a horse and is not wearing a toga or a galla uniform as is normal in older portrails of monarchs. He is instead seen in a relaxed pose, wearing an everyday uniform with long coat and boots, with his right hand rested on his waist and the left hand on his sword. The unsentimental presentation of the king reflects his personality and relationship with the park and may also have been influenced by the recent transition from absolute to constitutional monarchy that was realized with the adoption of the Constitution of Denmark in 1849. The statue is considered one of Bissen's best works. [1]

The inscriptions on the plinth was written by J.N. Madvig. The inscription on the front reads "Frederik den Sjette / født 28. januar 1768 / død 3. december 1839". The inscription on the rear side reads " Dette minde rejstes 1858". The inscription on the left-hand side (south) reads "Her følte han sig lykkelig i sit trofaste folks midte". The inscription on the right-hand side (north) reads "Han styrede riget som kronprins og som konge i henved 56 år".

History

A drawing of the statue from 1959 Statue of Frederick VI (1858).jpg
A drawing of the statue from 1959

Frederick VI died on 3 December 1839. The initial preparations of a monument to his honour had already started prior to his death. C.F. Wilckens and Just Mathias Thiele states that Bertel Thorvaldsen began to work on a monument to Frederick VI at his own initiative. It depicted the king on his throne wearing his coronation gown and was intended for a location in Rosenborg Castle Gardens. Thiele wrote to Thorvaldsen just two days after the king's death proposing an equestrian statue at Esplanaden but Thorvaldsen ignored this proposal and continued work on his Rosenborg proposal. [2] Christian VIII did however not like Thorvaldsen's proposal and a committee headed by Jonas Collin was instead set up. A memorial concert in the Church of Our Lady was held on the one year's anniversary of the king's death to raise money for the monument but then nothing happened for several years. [3]

The statue seen on a print by Knud Gamborg Runddelen i Frederiksberg Have en sommereftermiddag.png
The statue seen on a print by Knud Gamborg

The committee was finally revived in 1848 after an anonymously published letter to the editor in a newspaper had brought the project back on the agenda. The money from the concert with interests had now reached 2,321 Danish rigsdaler and 90 skilling. Thorvaldsen had died in 1844 and the task of designing the monument was instead assigned to Herman Wilhelm Bissen. The final commission was not made until November 1855. Bissen presented his final design to an enthusiastic committee on 17 September 1857 but a decision on where to place it had by then still not been taken. Jonas Collin was in favour of a location in front of Thorvaldsens Museum while other proposals included Rosenborg Castle Gardens, Esplanaden and Christiansborg Slotsplads. In the end, Bissen, who had created the statue with a location at the entrance to Frederiksberg Park in mind, did however manage to convince the committee that this was the right location. [3]

on 10 September 1858, the monument was finally unveiled in the presence of Frederick VII.

In media and culture

The statue is seen on the 1932 Royal Copenhagen Christmas plate. The plate was designed by Oluf Jensen. [4]

Frederiksberg Have main entrance panorama.jpg
The statue seen from Frederiksberg Runddel through the main entrance to Frederiksberg Gardens

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Herman Wilhelm Bissen</span> Danish sculptor (1798–1868)

Herman Wilhelm Bissen was a Danish sculptor. Bissen created a number of public works, working in plaster, marble and bronze.

The Danish Golden Age covers a period of exceptional creative production in Denmark, especially during the first half of the 19th century. Although Copenhagen had suffered from fires, bombardment and national bankruptcy, the arts took on a new period of creativity catalysed by Romanticism from Germany. The period is probably most commonly associated with the Golden Age of Danish Painting from 1800 to around 1850 which encompasses the work of Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg and his students, including Wilhelm Bendz, Christen Købke, Martinus Rørbye, Constantin Hansen and Wilhelm Marstrand, as well as the sculpture of Bertel Thorvaldsen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Church of Our Lady, Copenhagen</span> Church in Copenhagen, Denmark

The Church of Our Lady is the Lutheran cathedral of Copenhagen. It is situated on the Frue Plads public square in central Copenhagen, next to the historic main building of the University of Copenhagen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Isted Lion</span> Danish war monument unveiled in 1862

The Isted Lion is a Danish war monument originally intended as a monument of the Danish victory over German-minded Schleswig-Holstein insurgents in the Battle of Isted (Idstedt) on 25 July 1850, during the First Schleswig War which was a civil war within the Danish Realm, although with troops from Prussia supporting the Schleswig-Holstein insurgents. At its time it was the largest battle in Scandinavian history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henrik Olrik</span>

Ole Henrik Benedictus Olrik was a Danish painter, sculptor and applied artist.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thorvaldsen Museum</span> Museum in Copenhagen

The Thorvaldsen Museum is a single-artist museum in Copenhagen, Denmark, dedicated to the art of Danish and Icelandic Neoclassical sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen (1770–1844), who lived and worked in Rome for most of his life (1796–1838). The museum is located on the small island of Slotsholmen in central Copenhagen next to Christiansborg Palace. Designed by Michael Gottlieb Bindesbøll, the building was constructed from 1838 to 1848 following a public collection of funds in 1837.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jørgen Hansen Koch</span> Danish architect (1787–1860)

Jørgen Hansen Koch was a Neoclassical Danish architect. He was chief of the national Danish building administration from 1835 and director of the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts from 1844 to 1849.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vilhelm Bissen</span> Danish sculptor

Christian Gottlieb Vilhelm Bissen 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 served as its director. Bissen was trained in the Neoclassical tradition from Bertel Thorvaldsen but after a stay in Paris around 1880, he was influenced by Naturalism. With the equestrian statue of Absalon he turned to Neo-romanticism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">August Saabye</span> Danish sculptor (1823–1916)

August Vilhelm Saabye, also known as August Wilhelm Saabye, was a Danish sculptor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jægerspris Castle</span> Danish manor house

Jægerspris Castle, in Jægerspris on the Hornsherred peninsula west of Copenhagen, is a Danish manor house. It has belonged to the Danish monarchs for most of its history which dates back to the 13th century. In the 1850s it became a retreat for King Frederik VII and his morganatic wife Countess Danner, who sought refuge there to escape the controversy their marriage had caused among the establishment in Copenhagen. After the king's death, Countess Danner turned it into an asylum for women.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Danish sculpture</span>

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aksel Hansen</span> Danish sculptor (1853–1933)

Aksel Christian Henrik Hansen was a Danish sculptor, one of the most productive of his times.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Equestrian statue of Frederick VII</span>

The equestrian statue of Frederick VII in front of Christiansborg on Slotsholmen in Copenhagen, Denmark, was modelled by Herman Wilhelm Bissen and completed posthumously by his son Vilhelm Bissen in 1873. It was created to commemorate King Frederick's central role in Denmark's transition from absolute to constitutional monarchy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Otto Evens</span>

Otto Frederik Theobald Evens was a Danish sculptor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lauritz Rasmussen</span>

Lauritz Godtfred Rasmussen was a Danish zinc and bronze caster. He established a zinc and bronze foundry in his own name in Copenhagen in 1865 and was appointed royal court caster in 1883. Many Danish monuments from the second half of the 19th century come from his foundry. It was later taken over by his son Carl Rasmussen and remained in the family for several generations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Statue of Anders Sandøe Ørsted</span> Statue in Copenhagen, Denmark

The statue of Anders Sandøe Ørsted is located in Ørstedsparken in Copenhagen, Denmark. Ørsted was Denmark's leading jurist of the mid-19th century. He served as Prime Minister of Denmark in 1853–54.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carl Edvard Sonne</span> Danish printmaker

Carl Edvard Sonne was a Danish printmaker. His work consisted exclusively of reproductions of works by other artists, especially genre paintings, which reached a large audience through Kunstforeningen. He was the brother of painter Jørgen Sonne.

<i>Bertel Thorvaldsen with the Statue of Hope</i> Self-portrait by Danish sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen

Bertel Thorvaldsen with the Statue of Hope is a self-portrait by Danish sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen, created as a plaster model in his studio at Nysø Manor in 1839 and executed in marble posthumously by Herman Wilhelm Bissen in 1859. In 1894, a bronze cast was erected in Central Park, New York City. Bissen's marble sculpture is on display in the Thorvaldsen Museum in Copenhagen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Statue of Ludvig Holberg, Copenhagen</span> Statue of Ludvig Holberg in Copenhagen, Denmark

The statue of Ludvig Holberg by Theobald Stein, together with Herman Wilhelm Bissen's statue of Adam Oehlenschläger, flanks the main entrance to the Royal Danish Theatre on Kongens Nytorv in Copenhagen, Denmark. It was created by Stein in conjunction with the inauguration of Vilhelm Dahlerup's new theatre building in 1875. Bissen's statue of Oehlenschläger is from 1861 and was originally located on Sankt Annæ Plads.

References

  1. "Frederik 6. (1768-1839)". søfartshistorie.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 26 July 2019.
  2. "Et tvetydigt monument" (in Danish). Thorvaldsens Museum. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
  3. 1 2 "Frederik VI's statue i Frederiksberg Have" (in Danish). Historisk-Topografisk Selskab for Frederiksberg. Retrieved 26 July 2019.
  4. "Royal Copenhagen Christmas Plate Timeline". Royal Copenhagen. Retrieved 27 June 2024.