The Life and Training of Erik Thommesen

Born in Copenhagen, Denmark, on 15 February 1916, Erik Thommesen did not follow a traditional path toward the arts. His early intellectual pursuits were directed toward the natural sciences, and he spent a period of time studying zoology at the University of Copenhagen. This scientific background provided a foundation of observation, though his creative inclinations remained dormant for several years.

It was not until he reached the age of 20 that Erik Thommesen began to engage with drawing and painting. While these early explorations provided a starting point, they were soon superseded by a deeper pull toward three-dimensional form. He eventually moved away from the canvas to focus his energy on sculpture, a transition that would define his professional life.

Despite the gravity of his later reputation, Thommesen remained a self-taught artist. He did not rely on formal academic instruction to refine his understanding of volume and space. Instead, he developed his skills through direct engagement with his materials, working primarily with wood to explore the complexities of the human figure.

Technique and Artistic Style

Thommesen’s practice was defined by a profound engagement with the physical properties of his medium. While he worked in stone and bronze, he found his most natural expression in wood. His approach to sculpture was characterized by an almost Expressionist sensibility, stripping away the superficial to reach a core of essential form. He often bypassed recognizable features such as faces, arms, or legs, choosing instead to focus on the weight and presence of the body itself. This reductionism allowed him to explore the relationship between the human figure and the space it occupies.

His aesthetic was shaped by a diverse range of influences, drawing strength from the structural clarity of African sculpture. This interest in primal, essential forms was balanced by the sensibilities of modernism, finding echoes in the works of Henri Matisse, Pablo Picasso, and Aristide Maillol. The resulting figures often possessed a heavy, block-like quality, sometimes appearing as though they had emerged directly from tree trunks. He frequently depicted the human form with bowed heads or emaciated bodies, creating a sense of quiet, concentrated tension.

In his pursuit of expressiveness, Thommesen sought to capture the essence of the human condition through simplified, powerful silhouettes. His work moved away from mere imitation, favoring a style where the material's texture and the sculpture's volume spoke to the sitter's internal state. By emphasizing the upright man or the relationship between mother and child through simplified geometry, he achieved a sense of gravity and presence that relied on substance rather than detail.

Notable Works and Subjects

Thommesen’s creative focus remained steadfastly fixed upon the human form. He sought the most expressive way to represent man and the delicate relationship between the individual and the surrounding space. This pursuit of essence over detail led him to strip away recognizable features like arms, legs, or faces, leaving only the weight and presence of the body itself. His drawings from the early part of his career, such as the Selvportræt of 1939 and the Selvportræt of 1940, offer a glimpse into his evolving visual language during those formative years.

The 1940s marked a period of significant thematic exploration, particularly through a series of works centered on the theme Pige med fletning (Girl with Braid). These studies allowed him to experiment with how the human silhouette interacts with external elements. By 1948, this investigation reached a point of structural unity in a piece where the body and the braid merged to form a single, solid pillar. Through these subjects, he moved away from mere likeness toward a more profound, block-like representation of existence.