Artwork
The Sculptor Jens Adolph Jerichau in his Studio in Rome

The Sculptor Jens Adolph Jerichau in his Studio in Rome is an oil painting by the Realist artist David Jacobsen. It dates from 1871 and is held in the collection of the Statens Museum for Kunst.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The composition conveys the dignity of the sculptor’s vocation, framing his work as a continuation of the classical tradition he both studies and produces.
The painting portrays the Danish sculptor Jens Adolph Jerichau within his Roman studio, surrounded by classical statuary and working tools. Jacobsen emphasizes the artist’s creative environment, using the presence of a marble bust and sketchbooks to symbolize his artistic lineage and ongoing practice. The composition conveys the dignity of the sculptor’s vocation, framing his work as a continuation of the classical tradition he both studies and produces.
Technique & Style
The work is an oil painting on canvas, executed in 1871. It measures 502 cm in height and 408 cm in width, depicting the sculptor Jens Adolph Jerichau within his Roman studio. The composition captures the artist’s working environment with a focus on realism and atmospheric detail characteristic of 19th-century academic painting.
The surface treatment emphasizes the texture of both paint and canvas, contributing to a tactile rendering of light and space.
History & Provenance
The painting depicts sculptor Jens Adolph Jerichau in his studio in Rome and was created in 1871. It is an oil on canvas work measuring 502 centimeters by 408 centimeters. The artwork entered the collection of the Statens Museum for Kunst, where it remains on view.
The painting is held in the collection of the Statens Museum for Kunst in Copenhagen, which is also its listed location. The work depicts the sculptor Jens Adolf Jerichau within his Roman studio alongside a statue. While the artwork's inception is recorded as 1871, the provided sources do not contain specific inventory numbers, accession codes, or a record of its exhibition history.
Context
The painting depicts sculptor Jens Adolph Jerichau in his Roman studio, capturing the artist at work amid his tools and a visible statue. Jacobsen's 1871 oil on canvas, measuring 502 by 408 centimeters, entered the National Gallery of Denmark's collection shortly after its creation and remains on view there. Contemporary scholarship interprets the scene as an homage to Jerichau's formative years abroad, emphasizing the interplay between Danish artistic identity and the expatriate milieu of 19th-century European sculpture.
Overview
David Jacobsen’s 1871 oil painting, titled The Sculptor Jens Adolph Jerichau in his Studio in Rome, presents a dimly lit artist’s workshop. The canvas captures a moment of concentrated creation, with a lone figure shaping a small bronze work amid a clutter of unfinished marble forms. The work is part of the collection of Denmark’s Statens Museum for Kunst.
Artist & collection










