The Little Mermaid (statue)

There is a bronze statue of a mermaid.

It sits on a rock by the sea. It is in a land called Denmark. The statue is based on a famous story.

An artist named Edvard Eriksen made it. It was shown to the world in 1913. People from far away come to see it. Sometimes people have damaged the statue. Workers fix it every time. It remains a very special sight for many.

The Little Mermaid is a bronze statue in Copenhagen, Denmark.

It sits on a rock by the sea. The statue shows a mermaid becoming human. It is based on a famous fairy tale. The story was written by Hans Christian Andersen.

An artist named Edvard Eriksen made the statue. He showed it to the world in 1913. Many tourists visit the statue to see it.

Making the statue was a big job. A man named Carl Jacobsen asked for it. He loved a ballet about the fairy tale. The sculptor used Eline Eriksen as a model. The statue has faced some hard times. People have damaged it many times since 1964. Some people have cut the head or arms. Others have used paint to change it. These acts are called vandalism. Workers fix the statue every time it is hurt. The statue remains a famous symbol for the city. Many other cities have famous statues too.

One is Pania of the Reef in New Zealand.

The Little Mermaid is a famous bronze statue in Copenhagen, Denmark.

It sits on a rock by the water at the Langelinie promenade. The sculpture shows a mermaid who is becoming human. It is based on a fairy tale from 1837. That story was written by the Danish author Hans Christian Andersen. The statue is a major icon for the city. Many tourists visit it every year to see the small figure.

Creating the statue was a very specific process. In 1909, Carl Jacobsen asked for the sculpture to be made. He was the son of the founder of Carlsberg. He loved a ballet about the fairy tale at the Royal Theatre. The sculptor, Edvard Eriksen, asked the ballerina Ellen Price to model for it. However, she did not want to model without clothes. Because of this, Eriksen used his wife, Eline Eriksen, as the model instead. Some people think the face looks like Ellen Price, but that is not true.

The statue was finally unveiled on August 23, 1913. Since then, it has lived on its rock for over a century. It even traveled far away for a short time. In 2010, the city moved it to Shanghai for the Expo. It stayed there from May to October. While it was gone, a copy sat in the Tivoli Gardens lake. This was the first time it had moved since it was installed.

Over the years, the statue has faced many hard times. Since the mid-1960s, people have damaged it for many reasons. This is called vandalism. In 1964, someone sawed off the head and stole it. In 1984, a young man sawed off the right arm. In 1998, the head was cut off again. In 2003, people used explosives to knock it off its base. People have also poured red, blue, and white paint on it. Many times, people have written messages on the stone base. Even so, workers have restored the statue every single time.

Many other famous statues represent cities around the world.

The Statue of Liberty is a well-known icon in New York. Christ the Redeemer is a huge statue in Rio de Janeiro. There is also Pania of the Reef in Napier, New Zealand. You can even find copies of the Little Mermaid in many places. There are replicas in South Korea, Spain, and even Brazil. Some are small, like the one in Calgary, Canada. Others are in places like Solvang, California. These statues help people remember stories and different cultures.

The Little Mermaid is a bronze sculpture located in Copenhagen, Denmark.

It sits upon a rock at the Langelinie promenade near the water. The statue depicts a mermaid in the process of becoming human. This artwork is based on the 1837 fairy tale by Danish author Hans Christian Andersen. For over a century, it has served as a major icon for the city of Copenhagen. It remains a significant tourist attraction for people visiting Denmark.

The creation of the statue involved a specific commission and modeling process. In 1909, Carl Jacobsen commissioned the work. He was the son of the founder of the Carlsberg brewery. Jacobsen was inspired by a ballet about the fairy tale at the Royal Theatre. The sculptor, Edvard Eriksen, initially asked the ballerina Ellen Price to model for the piece. However, Price did not agree to model in the nude. Consequently, Eriksen used his wife, Eline Eriksen, as the model for the sculpture. While a popular myth suggests the face resembles Price, this is false.

After its completion, the statue was unveiled on August 23, 1913. It remained in its original position for nearly one hundred years. In 2010, the Copenhagen City Council arranged a unique temporary relocation. The statue was moved to Shanghai, China, for the Expo 2010. It stayed in the Danish Pavilion from May to October of that year. This marked the first time the statue was officially moved from its perch. During this period, an authorized copy was displayed in the lake at Tivoli Gardens.

Since the mid-1960s, the statue has been a frequent target of vandalism. Vandalism is the intentional destruction or defacement of property. Many different groups have targeted the statue for political or artistic reasons. In 1964, members of the Situationist movement sawed off and stole the head. The head was never recovered, so a new one was produced. In 1984, the right arm was sawn off and returned two days later. In 1998, the statue was decapitated again, but the head was returned anonymously. In 2003, explosives were used to knock the statue off its base. These incidents caused damage to the wrist and knee as well.

Beyond physical damage, the statue has also been defaced with paint and clothing. People have poured red, blue, and white paint over the bronze. Messages have been written on the stone base regarding various global issues. For example, in 2017, red paint was used to reference whaling in the Faroe Islands. In 2020, messages related to the Hong Kong protests and the Black Lives Matter movement appeared. Some people have also draped the statue in clothing, such as a burqa or a headscarf. Others have placed festive items like Christmas hats or football jerseys on it. Despite these many attacks, the statue has been restored every time.

The influence of the sculpture extends far beyond Copenhagen through many replicas.

There are more than thirteen undamaged copies located around the world. These include statues in Seoul, South Korea, and Madrid, Spain. A half-sized version is located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. In 1960, a replica was sent to Brazil to honor the construction of Brasília. A copy also exists in the International Peace Gardens in Salt Lake City. Some replicas, like the one in Greenville, Michigan, have even faced legal disputes regarding copyright. These copies allow the story of the mermaid to reach a global audience.

The Little Mermaid belongs to a category of statues that symbolize specific cities. Other famous examples include the Statue of Liberty in New York and Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro. In New Zealand, the statue of Pania of the Reef serves a similar symbolic role. The sculpture also appears frequently in popular culture, including various films and video games. Its status as a cultural landmark connects literature, art, and international tourism. It remains a central piece of Danish heritage and a subject of ongoing public interest.