Stephan Sinding

Stephan (Abel) Sinding (4 August 1846– 23 January1922), was a Norwegian-Danish sculptor. Sinding was the brother of the composer Christian Sinding and artist Otto Ludvig Sinding.Sinding broke off his law studies in Christiania (now Oslo) in order to take drawing and modelling lessons first in Norway at 'Den kongelige Tegneskole' in Christiania under the direction of Julius Middelthun. Later he was taught sculpting by Albert Wolff in Berlin. Sinding spent his adult life working in different places mostly Rome, Copenhagen, and finally Paris.

Sinding picked up influences from the newest and most modern French sculptures of his times (among others August Rodin, Barrias, Paul Dubois etc.) and was at first met with poor recognition from the Norwegian public since his style was considered too modern. He found Copenhagen a better working place and obtained Danish citizenship in 1890. Denmark by that time was still under great artistic influence by the late Bertel Thorvaldsen, whos neo-Greek/neo-classical sculptures were still considered to be the art as it should be. Nevertheless he found recognition and support from brewer Carl Jacobsen (owner of the brewery Ny Carlsberg, son of Jacob Christian Jacobsen founder of Carlsberg) who had an interest for sculptures. Carl Jacobsen bought his first Sinding sculpture "En barbarkvinde bærer sin dræbte søn bort fra slaget” in 1883 adding it to his ever growing collection in his private Glyptothek, which later was transformed into the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, which still holds the largest collection in the world of Sinding sculptures.

Sinding created a number of - by that time - well-loved sculptures, among others "Fangen Moder" (awarded Grand Prix at the world fair in Paris, 1889), "To Mennesker" (1889), "Ung kvinde med sin mands lig" / "Enken" (1892) etc.

In 1910 Sinding left Copenhagen for Paris, where he worked until his death. He is interned at the Père Lachaise Cemetery.

Many of Sindings sculptures are credited to realism but he also - together with, among others, Danish sculptor Niels Hansen Jacobsen, though by many considered much more radical in his work - worked in the style of symbolism. An example of his symbolism work is his sculpture "Valkyrie", a bronze copy currently displayed at the Churchill Park in central Copenhagen.

Sinding wrote - helped by Franz von Jessen - an autobiography entitled ”En Billedhuggers Liv” (printed Christiania, Gyldendalske Boghandel, 1921).