Carl Frederik Stanley (c. 1738 – 9 March 1813) was an
English-
Danish sculptor, a leading proponent of early
Neo-Classicism
Neoclassicism, also spelled Neo-classicism, emerged as a Western cultural movement in the decorative arts, decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiq ...
in Denmark.
Early life and education
Carl Frederik Stanley was born the son of
Simon Carl Stanley, a sculptor of English descent who had been born in Denmark but moved to England. In 1746 the family returned to Denmark. After first training with his father, Carl Frederik Stanley became one of the first students to enter the new
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 ...
in 1755. That same year he won his first award and in 1758 he won the Academy's large gold medal for the sculpture Noah's Sacrifice.
The gold medal was accompanied by a six-year travel scholarship and the following year he went abroad to further his education. He first settled in
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 ...
, where he studied under the sculptor
Guillaume Coustou. In 1762 he moved to
Rome
Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
, where he studied and made copies of Classical sculptures, before returning to Denmark in 1766.
Career
Back in Denmark in 1768, Stanley was commissioned to design the marble funerary monument to
Queen Louise in
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 exhibited sketches for the monument at the Academy's first exhibition in 1769 but it was not completed until 1791.
During the 1770s and 1780s he executed various other monuments, such as that to the shipbuilder Peter Applebye (c. 1774),
Christian's Church). He also contributed to the decorations at the Court Theatre and of the Knight's Hall at
Christiansborg Palace
Christiansborg Palace (, ) 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 Court of Denmark. Also ...
.
In 1776 he was unanimously accepted as a member of the Royal Art Academy and the following year he received Danish citizenship and was appointed a professor there.
From 1784 to 1785 he worked on a series of allegorical and historical reliefs for the plinth of the Trade and Navigation Monument at Lyngby. He produced few works after the early 1790s.
Works
Stanley's most significant work remained his funerary monument to Queen Louise. It is located in Frederick V's Chapel and designed in a severe, Neo-classical style.
His admittance piece for the Royal Art Academy was the allegorical ''Amor patriae'' of which several examples exist in various materials. Executed in an elegant Neo-classical style, the work shows a partly draped classical figure holding a sword in one hand and a wreath in the other. The statue represents a growing awareness of national identity and history in Denmark which was typical of the time. The previous year, King
Christian VII had introduced nationality laws which meant that Government posts and other public offices would in general be reserved for Danish citizens.
Stanley also produced a number of portrait busts, including a posthumous plaster bust of
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'' whic ...
(1784, Danish National Gallery).
See also
*
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 prominen ...
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stanley, Carl Frederik
Danish sculptors
Danish male artists
English male sculptors
Sculptors from Copenhagen
Sculptors from London
Artists from Westminster
British emigrants to Denmark
Danish people of English descent
1813 deaths
Year of birth uncertain
Male sculptors