Kai Nielsen (sculptor)

Kai Nielsen was born onNovember 1882 in Svendborg, the son of Christian Nielsen, a watchmaker, and his wife Ane Marie. Athe became an apprentice painter but was artistically inclined and began to paint landscapes and portraits. At the same time he studied at the technical school in Svendborg where he was taught moulding by Edvard Eriksen, later famous for creating The Little Mermaid in Copenhagen. In 1901 he moved to Copenhagen and took drawing classes to prepare for the Art Academy. When he applied, they rejected his drawings but accepted him into the Sculpture School in view of a portrait bust he had made in Svendborg and he became a student of Carl Aarsleff. At the Academy he began a lifelong friendship with Einar UtzonFrank who also studied sculpture. Together they explored the modern collections at the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek where Nielsen was particularly impressed by the works of Auguste Rodin and Constantin Meunier.

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Source: Wikipedia