Rikard Magnussen


Rikard Magnussen was a Danish sculptor.

Early life and education

Magnussen was born on 2 April 1885 in Copenhagen, the son of bookkeeper Sophus Oscar M. and Christiane Marie Weybøll. He completed his schooling in 1903. He was then trained as a sculptor, first for eight months under Elna Borch in 1904 and then under Stephan Sinding. He later worked on an off for Vilhelm Bissen 1913.

Career

Magnussen was a strong defender of the naturalistic style at a time when modernism came to play a still more dominant role on the art scene.
He was a member of Charlottenborg's censor committee and a board member both of Dansk Billedhugger Samfund, Kunstforeningen af 18. November and Foreningen for National Kunst, He was an art critic at København, Nationaltidende and other newspapers. He was a member of Foreningen til Hovedstadens Forskønnelse in 192842 and served as its president in 1929–34.
His writings included his memoirs Billedhugger-Minder, monographies about Janus la Cour, Carl Bloch, Christian Molsted, Svend Hammershøi and Godfred Christensen as well as I Thorvaldsens Livsanskuelse about Bertel Thorvaldsen and Søren Kierkegaard set udefra. He was editor of National Kunst and Danmarks nationale Malerkunst.

Personal life

Magnussen married royal translator Ellen Reck, a daughter of military officer and businessman Anders Borch R. and Marie Johanne Jacobine Qvist, on 10 July 1912 in Hellerup. He was made a Knight in the Order of the Dannebrog in 1938. He died on 26 May 1948 in Copenhagen and is buried in the city's Western Cemetery.

List of works