Hermann Ernst Freund

Hermann Ernst Freund (15 October 1786 – 30 June 1840) was a German-born Danish sculptor of the Danish Golden Age. Trained at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, he spent about a decade in Rome as one of Bertel Thorvaldsen’s closest collaborators before becoming professor of sculpture in Copenhagen. Freund is particularly known for his sculptures inspired by Nordic mythology, including a series of statuettes of Norse gods, the large Ragnarok frieze designed for Christiansborg Palace and a number of grave monuments and portrait busts in a refined classical style.