Сестрички Русалочки Little Mermaid Sisters

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The creation of the well-known sculpture of the Little Mermaid - the character of Andersen's popular fairy tale - was commissioned by Edward Eriksen from Carl Jacobsen, the son of the founder of the Carlsberg beer production, Jacob Jacobsen. The sculptor was commissioned to embody in bronze not some abstract, but a very specific image of the leading lady in the ballet of the same name based on a fairy tale - Ellen Price, who was fascinated by Carl Jacobsen. The ballerina did not want to pose naked, so the sculptor depicted only her head, and created the figure of the Little Mermaid under the impression of the well-known body of his own wife.

According to a widespread version, Carl Jacobsen selflessly donated the sculpture to Copenhagen and it was installed near the Langelinje embankment in 1913, becoming a symbol not only of the city, but of all of Denmark.
There were publications about the transfer of the sculpture in 2007 away from the coast, dangerous for barbarian raids, but in 2009 I found it in the same place where I first saw it twenty years earlier.

There is reason to believe that the gift was not entirely voluntary - Karl's wife insisted on this, who was unpleasant to have a rival even in the form of a bronze sculpture. Karl had to give in, but he ordered another Mermaid for himself, she is about half the size of her older sister, but the resemblance can be seen without difficulty. It has never been on public display and sits quietly in the courtyard of the Carlsberg brewery in Copenhagen to this day.