Johan Niclas Byström was a 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

Sculpture

Sculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard materials—typically stone such as marble—or metal, glass, or wood. Softer materials can also be used, such as clay, textiles, plastics, polymers and softer metals...

.

Byström was born at Filipstad

Filipstad

Filipstad is a locality and the seat of Filipstad Municipality, Värmland County, Sweden with 6,177 inhabitants in 2005.Filipstad was granted city privileges in 1611 by Charles IX of Sweden, who named it after his son Duke Carl Philip .After a major fire destroyed forest and town in 1694, Filipstad...

 and went to 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...

 the age of twenty, studying there for three years under Johan Tobias Sergel

Johan Tobias Sergel

Johan Tobias Sergel , Swedish sculptor, was born in Stockholm.-Biography:After studying for some time in Paris he went to Rome, where he remained for twelve years and sculpted a number of groups in marble, including, besides subjects from classical mythology, a colossal representation of "History,"...

. In 1809 he gained the prize of the Royal Academy of Arts

Royal Swedish Academy of Arts

The Royal Swedish Academy of Arts or Kungl. Akademien för de fria konsterna, founded in 1773 by King Gustav III, is one of the Royal Academies in Sweden...

, and in the following year visited 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...

. He sent home a beautiful work, "The Reclining Bacchante," in half life size, which raised him at once to the first rank among Swedish sculptors.

On his return to Stockholm in 1816 he presented the crown prince (the later king Charles XIV) with a colossal statue of himself, and was entrusted with several important works. Although he was appointed professor of sculpture at the academy

Royal Swedish Academy of Arts

The Royal Swedish Academy of Arts or Kungl. Akademien för de fria konsterna, founded in 1773 by King Gustav III, is one of the Royal Academies in Sweden...

, he soon returned to Italy, and with the exception of the years from 1838 to 1844 continued to reside there. He died in Rome in 1848.

Among Byström's numerous productions the best are his representations of the female form, such as Hebe

Hebe (mythology)

In Greek mythology, Hēbē is the goddess of youth . She is the daughter of Zeus and Hera. Hebe was the cupbearer for the gods and goddesses of Mount Olympus, serving their nectar and ambrosia, until she was married to Heracles ; her successor was the young Trojan prince Ganymede...

, Pandora

Pandora

In Greek mythology, Pandora was the first woman. As Hesiod related it, each god helped create her by giving her unique gifts...

, Juno

Juno (mythology)

Juno is an ancient Roman goddess, the protector and special counselor of the state. She is a daughter of Saturn and sister of the chief god Jupiter and the mother of Mars and Vulcan. Juno also looked after the women of Rome. Her Greek equivalent is Hera...

 suckling Hercules

Hercules

Hercules is the Roman name for Greek demigod Heracles, son of Zeus , and the mortal Alcmene...

, and the "Girl entering the Bath". His colossal statues of the Swedish kings are also much admired.
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