Carl Vilhelm Oluf Peter Aarsleff (14 August 1852 – 4 January 1918) was a Danish sculptor.

Biography

Aarsleff was born in

Nyborg Nyborg is a city in central Denmark, located in Nyborg Municipality on the island of Funen and with a population of 17,990 (2025). It is the easternmost settlement on Funen. By road, it is located 34 km east of Odense, 35 km north of ...

on the island of

Funen Funen (, ), is the third-largest List of islands of Denmark, island of Denmark, after Zealand and North Jutlandic Island, Vendsyssel-Thy, with an area of . It is the List of islands by area, 165th-largest island in the world. It is located in th ...

. He trained as a

wood carver Wood carving (or woodcarving) is a form of woodworking by means of a cutting tool (knife) in one hand or a chisel by two hands or with one hand on a chisel and one hand on a mallet, resulting in a wooden figure or figurine, or in the sculptural ...

with his father before going to

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

where he studied at the

Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts () 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 Danish Academy of Portraiture, Sculpture, and Architecture in Cope ...

from 1872. He graduated from the Academy in 1876. At the same time working in the studios of

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 ...

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 ser ...

and

Jens Adolf Jerichau 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, but gradually moved away from the static Neoclassicis ...

. In 1876, he won the Academy's small gold medal and in 1880, its large gold medal. In 1881, he went abroad on a travel grant to further his studies, visiting

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

and

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

. In 1890 he became a member of the Academy Council. He was a professor at the

from 1901 and from 1914 to 1917 served as its director. Aarsleff's production of own works was relatively slow to get off the ground. He is best known for a number of statues and statuettes of young adults in a style influenced by

Bertel Thorvaldsen Albert Bertel Thorvaldsen (; sometimes given as Thorwaldsen; 19 November 1770 – 24 March 1844) was a Danes, Danish-Icelanders, Icelandic Sculpture, sculptor and medallist, medalist of international fame, who spent most of his life (1797–183 ...

and particularly by

. He also made decorative works for several large architectural projects, including 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 ...

. From 1900 to 1912, he was engaged with the restoration of the

sarcophagus A sarcophagus (: sarcophagi or sarcophaguses) is a coffin, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word ''sarcophagus'' comes from the Greek language, Greek wikt:σάρξ, σάρξ ...

Margaret I of Denmark Margaret I (; March 1353 – 28 October 1412) was Queen regnant of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden (which included Finland) from the late 1380s until her death, and the founder of the Kalmar Union that joined the Scandinavian kingdoms together for ...

Roskilde Cathedral Roskilde Cathedral (), in the city of Roskilde on the island of Zealand (Denmark), Zealand (''Sjælland'') in eastern Denmark, is a cathedral of the Lutheranism, Lutheran Church of Denmark. The cathedral is one of the most important churches in D ...

. He became a Knight of the

Order of the Dannebrog The Order of the Dannebrog () is a Denmark, Danish order of chivalry instituted in 1671 by Christian V of Denmark, Christian V. Until 1808, membership in the Order was limited to fifty members of noble or royal rank, who formed a single cla ...

in 1912. He died in Copenhagen and was buried at Søllerød Kirkegård.

Legacy

Upon his death in 1918, 77 of his original works were donated to

. They are today exhibited in an extension to Mads Lerches Gård, a building from 1601 which houses the Østfyns Museer department of cultural history (''Borgmestergården'').

References

External links

Østfyns Museer website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aarsleff, Carl 1852 births 1918 deaths People from Nyborg Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts alumni Academic staff of the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts Directors of the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts 20th-century Danish sculptors Danish male sculptors 20th-century Danish male artists 19th-century Danish sculptors Knights of the Order of the Dannebrog 19th-century Danish male artists

Biography

Legacy

See also

References

External links