Wilhelm Bissen

Wilhelm Bissen was a Danish realist sculptor and a professor at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts. He was born on August 5, 1836, in Copenhagen, as the son of Herman Wilhelm Bissen, one of the leading Danish sculptors of his day. He received training in his father's studio and studied at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts from 1853 to 1857. He then traveled to Rome, where he became an assistant to Bertel Thorvaldsen, the famous Danish neoclassical sculptor. He stayed in Rome for 10 years, during which he developed his own style influenced by naturalism. He returned to Denmark in 1868, after his father's death, and continued his workshop and completed his ongoing projects. He also became a professor at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts and served as its director from 1902 to 1905. He had a great influence on the next generation of Danish sculptors. He created a number of statues of prominent Danes, such as Adam Oehlenschläger, N. F. S. Grundtvig, Christian IV, and Frederik VII. He is best known for his equestrian statue of Absalon, the founder of Copenhagen, on Højbro Plads, and the Stork Fountain on Amagertorv, both in Copenhagen. He also produced many animal sculptures, such as the birds on the Stork Fountain. He participated in several international exhibitions and received many honors and awards. He died of pneumonia on April 20, 1913, in Copenhagen. He is regarded as one of the most important Danish artists of his time and his works are displayed in many museums and galleries in Denmark and abroad.