Comment on 29.4.1823

In 1821-1822, Freund modelled a number of figures and subjects from Norse mythology. According to H.R. Baumann: Hermann Ernst Freunds Levned ved Victor Freund, Copenhagen 1883, p. 293, there were twelve in all, among them Odin, Freja, Thor, Balder, Ydun, Loke and the relief Mimer and Balder Consulting the Norns (Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, inv. nr. MIN 0319.) The figures were executed in clay and fired. They have all been lost, and only plaster casts of the following are known today: Odin (Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, inv. nr. MIN 0295), Loke (Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, inv. nr. MIN 0294) and the relief Mimer and Balder Consulting the Norns (Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, inv. nr. MIN 0319).
The German painter Dietrich Wilhelm Lindau made drawings of the figures, and these drawings were Freund’s contribution to the competition initiated by Jonas Collin for the promotion of Norse mythology (and Freund). Freund was awarded the first prize. See the related article Norse Mythology for more about the competition and Norse mythology as a subject for the visual arts.

Last updated 23.05.2016