Kai Nielsen | 1882 - 1924
You have probably already met The Water Mother, who welcomes visitors to the Glyptotek from her pool in the Winter Garden. The Danish sculptor Kai Nielsen (1882-1924) created the work specially for the Glyptotek.
Kai Nielsen (1882 – 1924) was fascinated by the human body. His themes included both strong male bodies with the ideal physique of antiquity as a role model – for example, in the monumental sculpture First Generation – and female figures inspired by ancient mythology like Aphrodite – for example in the sculpture Aarhus Girl or Venus with the Apple. But he was also dedicated to everyday motifs: for example, Girl Fiddling with Her Toes, statuettes of children, and busts of his family and of famous athletes, artists and art collectors of his day.
Kai Nielsen attended the academy in Copenhagen and found inspiration at the Glyptotek, where he studied 19th-century French and Danish sculpture, and ancient Greek and Roman art. At an early stage in his career, he got in touch with the brewer Carl Jacobsen: maybe to inspire the patron of art to invest in his works. The Glyptotek has an extensive collection of Kai Nielsen’s sculptures and sketches, which are presented in the exhibition alongside loans from museums and private collections in Denmark and Norway.
