Hermann Ernst Freund

Hermann Ernst Freund (15 October 1786 – 30 June 1840) was a German-born Danish sculptor of the Danish Golden Age. Trained at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, he spent about a decade in Rome as one of Bertel Thorvaldsen’s closest collaborators before becoming professor of sculpture in Copenhagen. Freund is particularly known for his sculptures inspired by Nordic mythology, including a series of statuettes of Norse gods, the large Ragnarok frieze designed for Christiansborg Palace and a number of grave monuments and portrait busts in a refined classical style.

Biography

Freund was born in Uthlede near Bremen in the Holy Roman Empire. Originally trained as a smith, he later turned to engraving and gem carving before entering the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen in 1805. He applied for and obtained Danish citizenship in 1811 and completed his studies with the Academy’s major travel scholarship, which enabled him to continue his training in Italy. These works made Freund one of the earliest Danish sculptors to develop a systematic sculptural imagery based on Nordic mythology, which contemporary critics associated with emerging currents of romantic nationalism.

Freund also prepared models for figures of the twelve apostles for the Church of Our Lady in Copenhagen, although the final commission for the church’s sculptural decoration went to Thorvaldsen. The largest single collection of his sculptures, including many of his mythological works and portrait pieces, is held by the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek in Copenhagen.

Gallery