Copenhagen's famed Little Mermaid statue
John McConnico / AP
Red paint covers the face of Copenhagen's famed Little Mermaid statue.
The Little Mermaid was created by Danish sculptor Edvard Eriksen in tribute to the Danish storyteller Hans Christian Andersen. Sitting on a rock at the entrance of the Copenhagen harbor since 1913, she draws an estimated 1 million visitors a year. She’s also been a popular target for vandals. The statue was commissioned in 1909 by Carl Jacobsen, son of the founder of Carlsberg, after he had been fascinated by a ballet about the fairytale. The sculptor Edward Eriksen created the statue, which was unveiled on 23 August 1913. He used his wife Eline Eriksen as the model. This statue has been vandalised several times, but has each time been restored. On March 3, 2007, the statue was again covered with pink paint. Recently, Copenhagen officials have announced that the statue may be moved further out in the harbour, as to avoid future vandalism. The Little Mermaid statue is only 1.25 meter high and weighs about 175 kg.
It's time to protect the little mermaid, said Princess Haiku. She needs political asylum.
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11 comments:
interesting that it is still subject to so much destruction. I have seen it once, it is really small and unobvious, quite a nice little statue and a pity people never leave her in peace to stare out of the water
I'm game. But how are we to get her offa that rock? I always thought that Copenhagen was a mellow place, but maybe they have their problems as we do.
Found your comment on my blog, in the archives and left you a picture of a trilobite similar to one I found in rock along the Missouri river. They are fossilized bugs (mine is about an inch long) which are believed to be ancient relatives of the horseshoe crab. They existed in pre historic mud and are varied in size and shape although they all have three lobed bodies. One I found along the Coosa river in Alabama is thin and clear. The original bugs body having been replaced by clear crystal. Checkout google photos for many pictures.
Thanks for visiting.
A sadness to move her further away from us, for such an attraction the wages of a security guard could easily be provided from public funds... that or at the very least a security camera.....
Both of these ideas make good sense to me. She appears to be an important cultural icon or she wouldn't be under attack. The power and importance of art can never be overlooked. BTW Thanks for stopping by.
Copenhagen's govt has become very conservative lately--and there have been riots. I haven't been there in 20 years--it was very liberal and relaxed back then and safe. the mermaide was fine too.
Statues just get vandalized--The Thinker (one of many) by Rodin in front of the Cleveland Museum of art was partally blown up, the John lennon statue in central Park is a constant target, --it is just ignorance, like when kids vandaize cemeteries.
I don;t know how they could stop it other than posting a surveilence camera and lighting near the statue.
The plight of this mermaid touches my heart. Well, if people won't not destroy great sculptures they should be in museums where they can be protected and copies can be in public. Art work is always vulnerable; banned music, books, etc. The human spirit prevails despite the darkness that coexists with light.
I can remember a time when art was not endangered.
A time when paintings, and sculptures weren't wired with alarms, and put behind bullet proof glass.
I remember peace.
the last time I went to Stonehenge it was all fenced in--due to spray painting-- well, you can't even get close to it anymore--
And I wanted to see it someday. oh, well, art has been ransacked every since the Romans did in the Greeks.
When was that, Sidney. I was thinking about it and can't remember the time before they had to put alarms on library books.
My explanation
Quote: "that statue is to Denmark what the swastika was to Nazi Germany"
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