Hvem var Olaf Malm? Er det levende modeller bak denne figuren i romanen Fra Piazza del Popolo av Vilhelm Bergsøe?
Who was Olaf Malm? Are There Living Models behind This Character in the Novel Fra Piazza del Popolo by Vilhelm Bergsøe?

Summary/Abstract: Based on the Nordic sculptor community in Rome around 1860, the article discusses candidates that served as inspiration for the fictional Olaf Malm from Telemark, the protagonist in the chapter “Malms historie” in Vilhelm Bergsøe’s key novel Fra Piazza del Popolo (1866). Some ofthe clues in the text are Malm’s sculptural works. A study of different sources and earlier research together with the candidates’ personality, biography, and travel patterns point in a new directionand strengthen the probability of the Norwegian sculptor Hans Johnsen Budal as being the main model, whereas some traits hint at the Danish sculptor Herman W. Bissen. The candidacy ofthe sculptor Olaf Glosimodt, which is established in Norway, however, is no longer credible.

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