Rasmus Morten Andersen (25 September 1861 – 28 February 1930) was a Danish sculptor. He is mainly known for his naturalistic portraits.
Early life and education
Rasmus Andersen was born at Ørting, near
Horsens
Horsens () is a city on the east coast of the Jutland region of Denmark. It is the seat of the Horsens municipality. The city's population is 64,418 (1 January 2025) and the municipality's population is 97,921 (), making it the List of cities and ...
, the son of Niels Andersen and Johanne Mortensdatter Andersen. 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 ...
. 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 ...
from 1877 to 1884 and trained to become a sculptor at Wilhelm Bissen's studio.
Career
Andersen had his debut at the
Charlottenborg Spring Exhibition
The Charlottenborg Spring Exhibition (''Charlottenborg Forårsudstilling'') is an annual art exhibition in Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
The event is held at the Charlottenborg Exhibition Building (''Kunsthal Charlottenborg'').
Kunsthal Cha ...
in 1882. He won the Academy's small gold medal for the relief ''Eumaios'' in 1884. He participated in the
World's Columbian Exposition
The World's Columbian Exposition, also known as the Chicago World's Fair, was a world's fair held in Chicago from May 5 to October 31, 1893, to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. The ...
in 1893 as well as a number of major Danish exhibitions. Throughout his career, he specialized in portraits, both in the form of statues, busts and medallions. His statue of Enrico Dalgas was awarded the
Eckersberg Medal
The Eckersberg Medal (originally the ''Akademiets Aarsmedaille'' or Annual Academy Medal) is an annual award of the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts. It is named after Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg, known as the father of Danish painting.
The ...
in 1900 and a bronze cast of it was erected in
Aarhus
Aarhus (, , ; officially spelled Århus from 1948 until 1 January 2011) is the second-largest city in Denmark and the seat of Aarhus municipality, Aarhus Municipality. It is located on the eastern shore of Jutland in the Kattegat sea and app ...
in 1901.
Andersen worked as a conservator at the Art Academy's cast collection until 1905 and at
Thorvaldsens Museum
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 ...
from 1893 until his death.
Personal life
Andersen married Karen Sofie Nielsen (1863–1929). The couple had three daughters: Gerda Andersen; Valborg Andersen and Karen Margrethe Andersen. He died at Frederiksberg and was buried in
Solbjerg Park Cemetery
Solbjerg Park Cemetery () Is a 19-hectare cemetery in Frederiksberg in the western outskirts of inner Copenhagen, Denmark. Founded in 1865, it is one of three cemeteries in Frederiksberg Municipality
Frederiksberg Kommune is a municipality ( D ...
.
Selected works
Works include:
Statues
*
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 ...
,
Chicago
Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
, US (1889)
* E.V. Dalgas,
Aarhus
Aarhus (, , ; officially spelled Århus from 1948 until 1 January 2011) is the second-largest city in Denmark and the seat of Aarhus municipality, Aarhus Municipality. It is located on the eastern shore of Jutland in the Kattegat sea and app ...
(1901, executed 1900)
* J.C. la Cour,
Lyngby
Kongens Lyngby (, Danish language, Danish for "the King's Heather Town"; short form Lyngby) is the seat and commercial centre of Lyngby-Taarbæk Municipality in the northern suburbs of Copenhagen, Denmark. Lyngby Hovedgade is a busy shopping stre ...
(1903)
* L. Brockenhuus-Schack,
Svendborg
Svendborg () is a town on the island of Funen in south-central Denmark, and the seat of Svendborg Municipality. With a population of 27,616 (1 January 2025), Svendborg is Funen's second largest city.C.F.Tietgen,
Sankt Annæ Plads
Sankt Annæ Plads (English language, English: St. Ann's Square) is a Town square, public square which marks the border between the Nyhavn area and Frederiksstaden neighborhoods of central Copenhagen, Denmark. It is a long narrow rectangle which e ...
, Copenhagen (1905 at
Børsen
( Danish for "the bourse" or "the stock exchange"), is a 17th-century commodity bourse and later stock exchange in the centre of Copenhagen, Denmark. The historic building is situated next to Christiansborg Palace, the seat of the Danish Parli ...
)
* Chresten Berg,
Kolding
Kolding () is a Denmark, Danish seaport city located at the head of Kolding Fjord in the Region of Southern Denmark. It is the seat of Kolding Municipality. It is a transportation, commercial, and manufacturing centre and has numerous industria ...
(1906)
*
Christian IX
Christian IX (8 April 181829 January 1906) was King of Denmark from 15 November 1863 until his death in 1906. From 1863 to 1864, he was concurrently List of dukes of Schleswig, Duke of Schleswig, List of dukes of Holstein, Holstein and Saxe-Laue ...
,
Nykøbing Mors
Nykøbing Mors is the largest town on the island of Mors in the Limfjord in Denmark. The town received its charter in 1299 and has a population of 8,859, as of 1 January 2025.
* Hans Krüger (1884, Ribe)
* Th. Stein (1890, bronze for Frederiksborg Museum, marble 1903 for
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 ...
)
* H.A. Brendekilde (plaster 1901, Fyns Kunstmus.)
* Frederik VIII (marble 1908, Frederiksborg Museum)
* Wilhelm Wiehe (marble 1924,
Royal Danish Theatre
The Royal Danish Theatre (RDT, Danish: ') is both the national Danish performing arts institution and a name used to refer to its old purpose-built venue from 1874 located on Kongens Nytorv in Copenhagen. The theatre was founded in 1748, first s ...
, original model in Teatermus.)
* Christian X (DFDS.)
* Hendrik Pontoppidan (1903, Aarhus)
* C.T. Barfoed (Landbohøjsk.)
* H.V. Stockfleth (Landbohøjsk.)
* E. Rostrup (Landbohøjsk)
* T. Westermann (Landbohøjsk)
* Otto Vaupell (Kolding Slotsbanke)
* W. Johannsen (Botanisk Lab.)
* Chr. Berg (Bogø)
* Ludvig Schrøder
;Reliefs
* Otto Vaupell
(Kolding, 1900)
* J.P. Michelsen (Herning)
* Sigurd Berg (Skjern, 1923)