FREUND, Hermann Ernst

(b. 1786 Germany, d. 1840 København)

Danish sculptor, born in Germany. In 1803 he was sent to Copenhagen as an apprentice to his uncle, who was a smith. After his apprenticeship he was educated as a sculptor at the Art Academy, and in 1817 he could head for Rome having received the academy’s highest accolade - its gold medal.

Before departing for Rome Freund was presented with the opportunity of decorating the interior of C.F. Hansen’s new Church of Our Lady upon his return. To Freund’s great regret Thorvaldsen was granted the commission, so Freund, prompted by Ionas Collin, turned to the Nordic Pantheon instead.

Freund worked in conscious opposition to the classical artistic idioms which had formed the basis of his education. Paradoxically, his ten years in Rome were dedicated to Nordic mythology, and it was not until he returned to Denmark that Freund started to work with the impressions he had gathered in Italy, impressions expressed in a passionate interest in the Pompeian style.

Freund as a medallist for the Royal Danish Mint had a particular interest in coins. After his death his collection was bequeathed to the Danish State.

Girl Picking Flowers

In northern Europe, the spread of Romanticism in sculpture was limited. The very powerful investment of German and Scandinavian sculptors in Classicism - something that reached its peak with Thorvaldsen - perhaps helped to delay it. In Denmark, Herman Freund, a pupil of Thorvaldsen, was the one who came closest to Romanticism.

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Henriette Rawert

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Loki

To differentiate themselves from Neoclassicism, Romantic artists sought new sources of inspiration in the literature and world of fantasy peculiar to each country. One of the first signs of this was Freund’s Loki, executed in Rome, but drawing on the Scandinavian legends which this artist in particular made wide use of.

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Thor Resting with his Hammer

During the first decades of the 19th century, tastes in Northern Europe ran increasingly towards motifs from Norse mythology while classical Mediterranean art remained the stylistic model for the art of sculpture. Freund belongs to the generation that succeeded Bertel Thorvaldsen, whom he served as an assistant at the master’s studio in Rome.

This depiction of Thor, the Norse god of thunder, is rich in contrast and constitutes a break with certain characteristics of Freund’s predecessor’s art. Uniting classical form with innovative subject matter, the Norse motif is petrified, presented in the marble of classical tradition.

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