Sculptures On My Mind: A Look at Three-Dimensional Scandinavian Art

Summary

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As my artist wife likes to point out, most of what you see is "figurative" -- statues of any number of kings, often equestrian, and other human figures. But there's also a contemporary edge to sculpture in Scandinavia, commensurate with its prominence in the world of modern design. Walking around in Copenhagen last summer, I noted a spider-like iron contraption hovering over most of a city square. Another startling sculpture stood in the nearby Rådhuspladsen: a 40-foot high bicycle, wrapped up in green leaves like a Maypole. On Stroget, a third piece of imaginative plastic art caught my attention -- a flesh-colored chair, shaped like a woman, complete with protruding breasts.

Many of the works of Carl Milles (1875-1955), Sweden's perhaps most famous sculptor, depict man's yearning for freedom, for breaking boundaries. Here, in the "Hand of God," man is lifted to heaven. This is one of the many sculptures that can be seen in Millesgården, the villa and sculpture garden just outside Stockholm (the original bronze cast is in downtown Detroit -- not far from Cranbrook, Michigan, where Milles worked for 21 years).

Here, in silhouette, stands the famous Viking explorer, Leif Ericsson. He discovered North America, and, in gratitude, the U.S. government donated a statue of him to Iceland, his home country. It rises on top of Reykjavik's highest hill, against the backdrop of Hallgrim's Church, the sculptural quality of which is even more remarkable. The church was built in the 1930s by State Architect Gudjon Samuelsson, and named after Iceland's most beloved poet, Rev. Hallgrimur Petursson (1614-1674).

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Sculptures On My Mind: A Look at Three-Dimensional Scandinavian Art

Venus fit for a king

King Gustav III (1771-92) was the Swedish regent who personified the elegant French style of the 18th century. In the Pillared Hall in the Royal Palace, I found this marble Venus, said to bear a striking resemblance to one of the king's favorite court ladies.

From extensive travel and a propensity for photographing statues and sculptures, I have accumulated quite a portfolio of Scandinavian three-dimensional art. Each country, as expected, has its own se...

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