Louis Hasselriis (12 January 1844 – 20 May 1912) was a Danish sculptor known for his public statuary.

Early life and education

Hasselriis was born in

Hillerød Hillerød () is a Denmark, Danish town with a population of 36,604 (1 January 2025)Hillerød Hillerød () is a Denmark, Danish town with a population of 36,604 (1 January 2025)Herman Wilhelm Bissen Herman Wilhelm Bissen (13 October 1798 – 10 March 1868) was a Danish sculptor. Bissen created a number of public works, working in plaster, marble and bronze. The National Gallery of Denmark owns a collection of over two hundred of his ...

. He attended 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 ...

in 1859–66 and won the small gold medal in 1868 for ''David forbereder sig til kamp med Goliath''.

Career

Hasselriis had his debut at the Charlottenborg Exhibition in 1863. From 1869 and for the rest of his life he lived in Rome, but retained strong links with his homeland and also with the USA. In Denmark he created a statue of

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

for

Helsingør Helsingør ( , ; ), classically known in English as Elsinore ( ), is a coastal city in northeastern Denmark. Helsingør Municipality had a population of 63,953 on 1 January 2025, making it the 23rd most populated municipality in Denmark. Helsin ...

and memorials to national heroes such as

Peder Griffenfeld Count Peder Griffenfeld (before nobility, ennoblement Peder Schumacher) (24 August 1635 – 12 March 1699) was a Danish statesman and royal favourite. He became the principal adviser to King Christian V of Denmark from 1670 and the ''de facto'' ...

(Copenhagen) and

Hans Christian Andersen Hans Christian Andersen ( , ; 2 April 1805 – 4 August 1875) was a Danish author. Although a prolific writer of plays, travelogue (literature), travelogues, novels, and poems, he is best remembered for his literary fairy tales. Andersen's fai ...

(

Odense Odense ( , , ) is the third largest city in Denmark (after Copenhagen and Aarhus) and the largest city on the island of Funen. As of 1 January 2025, the city proper had a population of 185,480 while Odense Municipality had a population of 210, ...

)). A copy of his Hans Christian Andersen statue exists in

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

. His memorial to

Heinrich Heine Christian Johann Heinrich Heine (; ; born Harry Heine; 13 December 1797 – 17 February 1856) was an outstanding poet, writer, and literary criticism, literary critic of 19th-century German Romanticism. He is best known outside Germany for his ...

marks the poet's grave in

Montparnasse cemetery Montparnasse Cemetery () is a cemetery in the Montparnasse quarter of Paris, in the city's 14th arrondissement of Paris, 14th arrondissement. The cemetery is roughly 47 acres and is the second largest cemetery in Paris. The cemetery has over 35,00 ...

in Paris. A full size statue of the German-Jewish poet was also created for Empress Elizabeth of Austria. After her death it was removed from its original location by the antisemitic Kaiser

Wilhelm II Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert; 27 January 18594 June 1941) was the last German Emperor and King of Prussia from 1888 until Abdication of Wilhelm II, his abdication in 1918, which marked the end of the German Empire as well as th ...

, and was rejected when offered to the city of Hamburg. With the rise of the Nazis, it was moved out of Germany to be erected in the

Jardin d'acclimatation du Mourillon The Jardin d'acclimatation du Mourillon (8,000 m²) is a municipal botanical garden located at 1053 Littoral Frédéric Mistral, Le Mourillon, Toulon, Var (department), Var, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, France. It is open daily without charge. Th ...

Toulon Toulon (, , ; , , ) is a city in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the French Riviera and the historical Provence, it is the prefecture of the Var (department), Var department. The Commune of Toulon h ...

.University of Hamburg, Heine
/ref> Though it survived the war, other Hasselriis statues were melted down to make munitions.

Gallery

File:Royal Library Garden - Søren Kierkegaard.jpg,

Søren Kierkegaard Søren Aabye Kierkegaard ( , ; ; 5 May 1813 – 11 November 1855) was a Danes, Danish theologian, philosopher, poet, social critic, and religious author who is widely considered to be the first existentialist philosopher. He wrote critical tex ...

statue, Royal Library Garden Copenhagen (1879, installed) File:Vinsugende satyrdreng.JPG, ''Wine-sucking Satyr'', Ørsted Park, Copenhagen (1888) File:Danmarksmonumentet.JPG , Denmark Monument,

Østre Anlæg Østre Anlæg is a public park in Copenhagen. Once it was a part of the old Fortifications of Copenhagen, city fortifications. The park was designed by landscape architect H.A. Flindt who also designed Ørstedsparken and University of Copenhagen ...

, Copenhagen (1897) File:Das Grab Heines.JPG, Tomb of Heinrich Heine designed by Hasselriis File:Statue Andersen by Louis Hasselriis Odense Denmark.jpg,

, statue by Hasselriis in

(Andersen's birthplace), Denmark (1888)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hasselriis, Louis 1844 births 1912 deaths 20th-century Danish sculptors Danish male sculptors 19th-century Danish sculptors People from Hillerød Municipality 20th-century Danish male artists