Kneeling boy

Description

Astrid Noack’s boy sculpture is determined and dignified. There are no props, trappings, or dramatic movements we can use to interpret or explain this figure. What we see is a simple, unadorned piece that calls to mind the Egyptian or archaic Greek style, characterized by frontality, stringency, and stylization.

In many ways Astrid Noack paved the way for other female artists. Notably, she was one of the first Danish women to earn a formal qualification, a “journeyman’s certificate”, in carving. She did so in 1910 after working for a number of years as a porcelain painter in Copenhagen. In 1920, Noack travelled to Paris on a stay funded by a tradesman’s stipend. She became part of the inner circle at the Académie Scandinave and brought the modernist trends back with her when she returned to Denmark.

She became the first female member of the well-known Copenhagen artist’s cooperative Grønningen.