Emilie Hedevig Bissen, f. Møller 1835

This is a plaster bust of Emilie Hedevig Bissen, née Møller, made by her husband H.W. Bissen, a Danish sculptor active in the first half of the 19th century. Bissen was a leading figure in the Neoclassical movement in Denmark, a style that looked back to the art of ancient Greece and Rome. This sculpture reflects that interest in classical ideals of beauty and form, visible in the smooth, idealized features and the carefully rendered hairstyle. But the sculpture also tells us about the social status of women in 19th-century Denmark, when a woman's identity was often closely tied to her role as a wife and mother, rather than an individual in her own right. Understanding the layers of social convention requires careful historical research, looking at letters, diaries, and other documents to understand the cultural context in which this sculpture was made.