Arkitekten, professor F. Meldahl 1860

H.W. Bissen created this 70 cm high bust of architect F. Meldahl, likely sometime in the mid-19th century. Bissen was a prominent Danish sculptor, known for his neoclassical style which was the dominant visual language of European high culture at the time. The choice of the bust format itself, with its classical allusions to the great men of antiquity, signals the high status of the sitter. Here, the draping of the sitter’s shoulders is a direct reference to classical sculpture and confers a sense of timelessness on Meldahl. Meldahl himself was a leading architect and professor who helped shape the look of Copenhagen. As such, this sculpture exists at the intersection of art, architecture, and civic identity. A deeper understanding of the artwork would require looking into the archives of the art academy and the architectural projects with which Meldahl was involved. What was the relationship between the arts and the state in Denmark? Art history allows us to situate the aesthetic object within its wider cultural and institutional context.