Tag: copenhagen

Bertel Thorvaldsen

Bertel Thorvaldsen, “Jason and the Golden Fleece”, 1828, Marble, Thorvaldsen Museum, Copenhagen, Denmark

Bertel Thorvaldsen created a life-size clay version of this statue in 1803 for the Copenhagen Academy to demonstrate his progress at sculpture. It is considered to be his first great work. This marble version of “Jason and the Golden Fleece” was commissioned by Thomas Hope, a wealthy English art patron. The marble statue, at a height of ninety five inches, was completed in 1828.

Expressing both physical and mental calm, Jason is the prototype of the classical hero. The sculpture is fully balanced: no matter where your eyes fall, you can find a corresponding element. For example, the lance is reflected in the chest strap, the fleece in tree stump. and the curled tip of the helmet in the horns of the ram.

In 1917, Thomas Hope’s  heirs dispersed the holding of his estate at Deepdene, Surrey. “Jason and the Golden Fleece” was acquired by Copenhagen’s Thorvaldsen Museum at the auction.

 

Ludwig Favre

Ludwig Favre, Photographs of Grundtvig’s Church, Copenhagen, Denmark

Favre is a photographer that specializes in major city landscapes, and has a history of shooting interiors.

Copenhagen’s Grundtvig’s Church is a rare example of expressionist church architecture, and one of the most well-known churches in the Danish city. French photographer Ludwig Favre was attracted to the perpendicular lines that compose the early 20th-century structure, in addition to the nearly six million yellow bricks that fill its interior. Favre decided to shoot the building’s 1800-seat congregation, capturing the minimal ornamentation found in the famous church’s massive vaulted halls and nave.