JETTE MÜHLENDORF CHRISTENSEN AND THE MUSEUM OF SKETCHES AND MODELS IN PIETRASANTA
I’d like to tell you one, indeed three – beautiful love stories each featuring a woman of great personality, incredibly intelligent, sensitive and brave; a true forward- looking visionary, whose life and significant achievements are, sadly, still unknown to most people. These three stories are bound together by a single common thread: an attraction to beauty.
– the first is about our protagonist’s passion for art and culture, a feeling that would accompany her throughout her entire life
– the second tells of her love for a fascinating and charismatic man who would become her partner and the father of her daughter
– the third, finally, speaks of her deep affection for a charming village in Tuscany—so small, yet so rich in long craftmanship tradition—a place that was “foreign” to her but where she would feel at home, until her early death, at just 47 years of age.
Who is this woman? I am talking about Jette Mühlendorf Christensen, a Danish photographer, journalist and art critic, the creator of the Museum of Sketches and Models (Museo dei Bozzetti in Italian) in Pietrasanta, my hometown.
But let’s proceed in order and start from the very beginning.
Jette was born on January 5, 1942, near Aalborg, in northern Denmark. She grew up with her younger sister in a simple yet serene and caring family. From early childhood, she showed a strong interest in art, a deep sensitivity to aesthetics, and a natural “photographic eye,” remarkably precise and attentive to every detail.
Being very beautiful, she works as a fashion model for ten years, but eventually she decides to follow her true passion and enroll at the University of Arts in Aarhus. While writing her thesis, she collaborates with the city’s Kunstmuseum, gradually developing a deeper interest in modern art. At the museum, she works as a guide (yes, she too-believe it or not!), revealing to visitors the many curiosities and insights behind the artworks on display, and takes part actively in the installation of temporary exhibitions.
nd it is here, during the preparation of the group exhibition entitled Souvenir, that her second great love story begins: the one with the Danish artist Jørgen Haugen Sørensen. It is 1968. He is already an internationally established sculptor, renowned for the extraordinary expressive power of his works in a wide range of materials, including marble, bronze, terracotta, and ceramic. When they meet, it’s love at first sight. Between them the connection and affinity are so strong that they will completely change the course of their lives.
For her, Jørgen leaves his wife and children, while Jette gives up finishing her degree to follow him on his artistic journey around the world… until they decide to settle in Pietrasanta, in Tuscany, in 1973.
This is how her love for this small town, under the province of Lucca, begins and blossoms; a place where one can live and breathe art, thanks to the experience gained over the centuries and passed down through the generations in the artistic working of marble, bronze, and stone. Local artisans are so technically skilled and highly specialized that they attract many prestigious contemporary artists from around the world—including Botero, Mitoraj, Vangi, César, Pomodoro, Cromy, Ciulla, and Yasuda (to name just a few)—to create their works in this small corner of Tuscany.
Through her curious, perceptive, and “foreign” perspective, Jette is able to recognize in Pietrasanta’s artistic workshops a rare and unique potential that deserves to be carefully protected and shared. Thus, largely thanks to the initiative of this remarkable woman and the support of Pierluigi Gherardi, Head of Culture and Entertainment for the Municipality of Pietrasanta, a unique museum was established in 1984, dedicated to the sketches and preparatory models of modern artworks by prominent Italian and international sculptors.
Why are they so special as objects to be collected?
They are, after all, merely maquettes, made of plaster—a modest material—and for this reason they are often left aside, almost “abandoned,” in workshops throughout the Versilia region. Jette, on the contrary, is the first to recognize their value, regarding them as true treasures, since they embody the dual nature of the complex artistic process: both the creative and the technical/structural aspects. They unite the artist’s original intuition and vision with the artisan’s extensive know-how, giving rise to the final work. For this reason, they must be properly valued and displayed in a museum as an important part of our cultural heritage.
Thanks Jette!!
Are you curious to discover this interesting museum, located in an evocative former Augustinian cloister dating back to the 16th century?
Did you know that in Pietrasanta you can also find an incredible Park of Contemporary Sculpture and that thanks to its artistic richness the city has been also nicknamed the “little Athens”?
If you’d like to know more, don’t miss one of the professional guided tours organized by our Association, Lucca Info & Guide.