Looking out for Mariners

In 1924 the sculptor Svend Rathsack and Ivar Bentsen won the competiion for a Maritime Monument on Langelinie, part of Copenhagen's waterfront. It was unveiled in 1928.

After beginning his artistic career as a painter, Rathsack turned exclusively to sculpture in 1913. In Denmark he is known for statues of standing figures such as Standing Woman [1940-41] and the Hunter (1941, some of his last works.

Ivar Bentsen was a Danish architect and professor who was a central figure in both the Bedre Byggeskik-bevægelsen (Better Building Practices movement), Neo-classicism and functionalism .

-RS

Oxblood paint

Oxblood or deerblood tempera has been used since ancient time to protect structures from the elements. In Denmark the climate is extreme in the sense that water and ice form in the winter and high humidity is typical in summer. This leads to mould and water damage being a constant threat to structures.

In Kastellet near Langelinje the barracks and other buildings are painted in red and yellow colours derived from burnt ochre and either golden ochre or ferric oxid (I could not find a definitive answer as to which)mixed with oxblodd.

Many stories abound of the durability of tempera and the Rennaissance paintings certainly show it being true. One of specific interest is the story that an oak door on the "Priorshus" (Priors house) in "Ærøskøbing" on the island of "Ærø" in Denmark has, according to the tradition, been painted with only one layer of oxblood. This took place in 1690 and it has never been necessary to repaint it again.

-RS

Enjoying the sunshine

A favourite spot for walking around in the sunshine is the area around Kastellet, or The Citadel, near Langelinie. From here one has a very good view of the surrounding areas and, even though it is not allowed, some people also sit on the grass to relax.

-RS

Gefion

When you first come to a country, probably as a tourist, you see the beauty of the country superficially. When, however you have a bit more time or spend time living there you get to understand its mythology better.

So it was for me with this statue, that of the goddess Gefion, which is situated near Churchill Square in the Nordre Toldbod area next to Kastellet and immediately south of Langelinie.

In Norse mythology is a goddess associated with ploughing the Danish main island of Zealand out of a piece of Sweden which is a lake with a similar size and outline as Zealand. She is also associated with foreknowledge and virginity.

Gefion appears prominently as the allegorical mother of Norway, Sweden, and Denmark in the forty-page Swedish Romantic poem Gefion, a Poem in Four Cantos by Eleonora Charlotta. It seems to have been the inspiration for the fountain statue by Anders Bundgård.


-RS

Little Mermaid alert!

Now what would a photo taken towards the eastern side of Nyhavn (known as the "Sunny Side" by locals) have in relation to the world-famous statue in Langelinje?

Well, H.C. Andersen the writer of the tale lived on this side of the harbour for quite a while and, the word on the blue building on the right hand side of the picture Havfruen means The Mermaid in Danish.

Start of the season

With May comes the season of outdoors entertainment and festivals to Copenhagen. And a relatively  new addition to that is the Japanese Sakura Festival held near Langelinje. With drummers, archers, martial arts performances and lots of food stalls  this is a crowd pleaser.

Not the Swan Lake

This swan couple has decided to nest at one of the busiest tourist places in Copenhagen; just off Langelinje with the Little Mermaid and right next to the Gefion Fountain. I guess they're not concerned about the throngs of camera touting people passing by while they're nesting.

A Cold Place

The Little Mermaid on her new stone in Copenhagen Harbour. When seeing her for the first time, many tourists are a bit disappointed as she isn't the big monument that many expects. She is only life-sized but pretty nonetheless.

Guests

Another sure sign of summer is this; tourists eating outside near the wharf of Langelinje. They do seem to enjoy the sun:-)

A not-so-little Mermaid

Between the real Little Mermaid and the genemodified one is this one, which is not exactly little (or subtle). As it's standing right where all the cruise ships dock, this mermaid is the first one that a lot of tourists see when they visit Copenhagen.

A Gene-modified Mermaid

A short distance from where the Little Mermaid were before her trip to China, is another mermaid. This one is of another kind entirely. She is part of group of sculptures called The Genetically Modified Paradise by the Danish Professor Bjørn Nørgaard. I guess it's a matter of taste if you like this one or not:-) I did the rest of the sculptures in a previous post in Danish.

Kristina

Near Langelinje with the Little Mermaid stands this proud woman called Kristina, looking out over the harbour. She is a monument to the Danish Mormons who immigrated to Utah in 1852, thereby being the forerunners for the Danish wave of emigrants that left Denmark to seek their fortune in the new lands. The whole story of Kristina can be read here.

Red triangel

My new theme for the coming days (or maybe weeks) is reflections. Reflections is something I have written about before in Danish and it is one of the things I always looks for when I'm photographing. It can add symmetry and sometimes surrealism to the photo. Reflective materials are everywhere; glass, water, steel, ice or any of a number of other materials surrounds us everyday so it's easy to find a worthy object to photograph. I either have both the "real" object and its reflection or just the reflection by itself.

The first one I'm bringing is this one of the bow of a small sailing boat taken in a marina. At first it can be difficult to tell exactly what it is but then more and more details emerge and suddenly you can see the whole picture. The tricky part is to tell where the bow stops and the water begins. I had to take a couple of shots before I got it right but I like the result!

Solskin

Fra Langelinjes lystbådehavn

Så tittede solen frem...i hvert fald for en stund. En hurtig formiddagstur til Langelinje og omegn fik løst den værste kløe i fodsåler og pegefinger. Jeg fik set lidt på gamle kendinge som Gefion (INGEN turister sådan en råkold søndag morgen lige før jul) og Den lille Havfrue i både gammel og moderne udgave, og så fandt jeg en del statuer og skulpturer, som jeg ikke lige havde bemærket (eller fotograferet) før. Også et smut ned til lystbådehavnen gav et par fine stemningsbilleder og et par mere abstrakte. Alt i alt et par fine timer.

Sindings Valkyrie

Gefion er altid et godt motiv med og uden vand

Oksernes detaljerigdom tigger om et nærbillede

Gefion fra en lidt usædvanlig vinkel

Volden i morgenlys...og ja, jeg er godt klar over,
at det lykkedes mig at få min skygge med:-)

Frederik d. IX...med min skygge:-)

Med solen i ryggen var Den lille
Havfrues bedste side ikke forfra

Lystbådehavnen i morgenlys

Trekroner

Grønne isbjørne

Forsvindingspunkt

En alternativ lille havfrue...hm

Nær Langelinje ligger Det Genmodificerede Paradis

Mappedyr

Struds på bro?

Anderledes er det da...

...og med garanti et hedt samtaleemne blandt
gæsterne i de omkringliggende lejligheder