Herman Wilhelm Bissen : biography

Herman Wilhelm Bissen (13 October 1798 – 10 March 1868) was a Danish sculptor.

Bissen first studied painting in Copenhagen, then became a pupil of the sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen. In 1824, he travelled to Rome and met Christian Daniel Rauch in Berlin. Under the influence of Thorvaldsen, his style changed from romanticism to neo-classicism. Back in Denmark, Bissen became professor at the Academy of Arts, Copenhagen in 1834, changing in style to realism. Among his works are the monumental Landsoldaten (1858) in Fredericia and the Isted Lion (1862) (originally in Flensburg, over Berlin and Copenhagen and back to Flensburg), the gold-plated statue of Bishop Absalon on the front of the Copenhagen City Hall and many smaller pieces.

Prince Paris by H.W. Bissen, Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, Copenhagen]]