Hendrik Christian Andersen
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Hendrik Christian Andersen (1872-1940) was a Danish-American sculptor, not to be confused with Danish fairy tale author Hans Christian Andersen. Hendrik was born in Denmark, but his family emigrated to America when he was a child and settled in Newport, Rhode Island. This portrait of him c. 1900 was painted by his brother, artist Andreas Andersen.
In 1893, when he was 21, he traveled to Europe to study art. After traveling for a year, he settled in Rome for the rest of his life. in 1899 he met the famous American author Henry James, at right in the photo above, with Hendrik at left. Although James was almost 30 years older than Hendrik, they became very close.
Did they have a gay relationship? It's hard to tell, but they look pretty cosy in this photo. In 1902, Henry James wrote to Hendrik: "I am in town for a few weeks ... to put my arm round you & make you lean on me as on a brother & a lover ... this I try to imagine as thinkable, attainable, not wholly out of the question."
Above is a photo of Hendrik in his studio in Rome surrounded by his sculptures, which tended to be monumental.
When he died, he bequeathed his house and studio and more than 400 pieces of art to the Italian government. The house is now a museum in Rome open to the public (above).
A sculpture of Jacob Wrestling with the Angel. Many of Hendrik's sculptures are homoerotic. Note that both Jacob and the angel are nude.
A second sculpture of Jacob Wrestling with the Angel. I guess he really liked that subject.
A trio of naked men.
The Football Player. Much of Hendrik's work was done in contemplation of an ideal "World City." This was a proposed central world capital in which art would bring about harmony and world peace. His obsession with the World City eventually drove a wedge between him and Henry James, who considered the idea pretentious and absurd.
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We end on a happier note. When he first went to Europe, the 21-year-old Hendrik met his older brother Andreas, who was a painter, and student painter John Briggs Potter. The three of them traveled around Europe for a year. Above is an 1894 painting by Andreas of Hendrik and John Potter in Florence. It's pretty clear that both Hendrik and John are naked (John is putting on a sock), and it looks like they're getting up after spending the night together. In fact, it looks to me like Hendrik is sporting a bit of a bulge under the covers. Well, they were young Bohemian artists, so why not?
9 comments:
Not wanting to be disrespectful...it seems to me that the peters on his statues are more "natural" than those on Ancient and Renaissance statues.
Beautiful sculptures!! And his brother an artist? Talent runs in that family.
Amazing sculptures!
I haven't heard "peters" in a long time!
@Big Dude - You’re right. In ancient Greece, although nudity was accepted, a large penis was considered vulgar, so statues were portrayed with little nubs for penises except for statues of satyrs, who sported large erections, but satyrs were part man, part beast and were considered to have no self-control. The Romans adopted the same artistic convention.
Pecker-inos!
Since some flaccid penises get shorter as their owners get older, a stature of an "elder statesman" might have a smaller organ to suggest aged maturity.
How were young Olmypic Games contestants sculpted?
@jimboylan2 - All Greek male statues had small penises, not just elder statesmen. Statues of athletes and even of Apollo, the god of youthful male beauty, had small penises. As I said, it was an artistic convention. Large dicks were considered vulgar.
Be proud of your body.
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