Johan Tobias Sergel Swedish

Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

 sculptor, was born in Stockholm

Stockholm

Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...

.

Biography

After studying for some time in Paris he went to Rome

Rome

Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

, where he remained for twelve years and sculpted a number of groups in marble, including, besides subjects from classical mythology

Mythology

The term mythology can refer either to the study of myths, or to a body or collection of myths. As examples, comparative mythology is the study of connections between myths from different cultures, whereas Greek mythology is the body of myths from ancient Greece...

, a colossal representation of "History," in which are depicted the achievements of Gustav II Adolf before the Chancellor Oxenstierna

Axel Oxenstierna

Axel Gustafsson Oxenstierna af Södermöre , Count of Södermöre, was a Swedish statesman. He became a member of the Swedish Privy Council in 1609 and served as Lord High Chancellor of Sweden from 1612 until his death. He was a confidant of first Gustavus Adolphus and then Queen Christina.Oxenstierna...

. It was in Rome also that he modelled the statue of Gustav III, subsequently cast in bronze

Bronze

Bronze is a metal alloy consisting primarily of copper, usually with tin as the main additive. It is hard and brittle, and it was particularly significant in antiquity, so much so that the Bronze Age was named after the metal...

 and purchased by the city of Stockholm in 1796. While primarily a sculptor, Sergel (inspired by English artists like Thomas Rowlandson

Thomas Rowlandson

Thomas Rowlandson was an English artist and caricaturist.- Biography :Rowlandson was born in Old Jewry, in the City of London. He was the son of a tradesman or city merchant. On leaving school he became a student at the Royal Academy...

) also drew several sequential picture stories, considered by many as one of the early forms of comics

Comics

Comics denotes a hybrid medium having verbal side of its vocabulary tightly tied to its visual side in order to convey narrative or information only, the latter in case of non-fiction comics, seeking synergy by using both visual and verbal side in...

. Sergel returned to Stockholm in 1779 and continued to produce his works there. Among them are a tomb for Gustav Vasa

Gustavus Vasa

Gustavus Vasa may refer to:* King Gustav I of Sweden* The play Gustavus Vasa by Henry Brooke, first English play to be banned under the Licensing Act 1737* Alternate name of Olaudah Equiano, African ex-slave living in 18th century Britain...

, a monument to Descartes, and a large relief in the church of St Clarens in Stockholm, representing the Resurrection

Resurrection

Resurrection refers to the literal coming back to life of the biologically dead. It is used both with respect to particular individuals or the belief in a General Resurrection of the dead at the end of the world. The General Resurrection is featured prominently in Jewish, Christian, and Muslim...

. He was an important part of the artistic elite in Stockholm and had a relationship with the celebrated actress Fredrique Löwen

Fredrique Löwen

Fredrica Löf, also known as Fredrique Löwen was a Swedish stage actress...

 and was possibly the father of one of her children. He was the brother of Anna Brita Sergel

Anna Brita Sergel

Anna Brita Sergel, later surname Howe , was a Swedish artist , an official decorator of the royal Swedish court.Born to the embroidery decorator of the royal Swedish court, Christoffer Sergel, and Elisabet Swyrner from Germany, she was the sister of the famous artist Johan Tobias Sergel. She...

. He died in his native city on 26 February 1814.