The fountain sculpture
Öresund in Malmö

in Swedish

Fountain sculpture by Gerhard Henning, 1934, at Gustav Adolfs Torg (IDstory) in Malmö.

In 1931, the The Society for the Preservation of Cultural Heritage and Green Parks in Malmö↗ announced a competition for the decoration of Gustav Adolfs Torg. The occasion was the association’s 50th anniversary, which they wished to mark with a gift to the city.

Gerhard Henning, based in Copenhagen, won the competition with the sculpture “Under the Chestnut.” However, it was considered unsuitable for the square and is now located in the Glyptotek in Copenhagen.

Henning then developed a new proposal, “Öresund,” which was executed and unveiled in 1934.

The final cost for the association was 50,000 SEK, largely covered by a donation from Eugen Wingård.

About Gerhard Henning

Gerhard Henning was born in 1880 in Stockholm. His father was a master tailor. In 1882, the family moved to Copenhagen. Henning developed an early interest in painting and was admitted to the Technical School at just 10 years old.

The family moved to Helsingborg in 1884 and two years later to Gothenburg. There, he studied at the School of Design and Crafts. In 1898, he became a student at the Valand School of Fine Arts. From there, he sought out Stockholm and was accepted at the Artists’ Association School. He lived in the artists’ residence founded by banker and art collector Ernest Thiel.

In 1900, he returned to Valand in Gothenburg. A scholarship made it possible for Henning to travel to Rome, where he studied sculpture in the museums. However, when he returned to Sweden, painting was still his main focus.

Through Ernest Thiel and a series of coincidences, Henning came to be employed at the Royal Danish Porcelain Factory. He worked there intermittently between 1909 and 1925, while also pursuing sculpture. His breakthrough as a sculptor came precisely through the competition in Malmö and the execution of the fountain at Gustav Adolfs Torg.

In 1931, Henning became a Danish citizen. His sculptures were rarely seen in Sweden, but he was frequently commissioned across Europe.

The sculpture “Reclining Girl,” which Henning created as early as 1914, was acquired in 1961 through a donation from the Lorens and Agnes Beijer Foundation. It is placed by the canal in Slottsparken.

Gerhard Henning died in 1967 in Copenhagen.

References

• About BiBB, a media company and an encyclopedia 4.0
• Om Gerhard Henning, Wikipedia
• Text: Christian Kindblad | Photo: Jonas Andréasson

Published: 2005.06 Updated: 2025.09.07

Kategorier 25 Kultur 12

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