Casa Museo Hendrik Christian Andersen

The Hendrik Christian Andersen House Museum in Rome preserves the sculptor's Villa Helene and the works associated with his ideal World Centre of Communication. Monumental figures, portrait busts and architectural drawings connect a private studio with an ambitious vision of international cultural cooperation.

Why it matters

Andersen's project brought sculpture and urban planning into one imagined setting for the arts, sciences and other fields of knowledge. The house retains the material record of that unrealised ambition alongside his domestic environment.

What to notice

The building combines residence and studio, with the name Helene above the entrance. Large plaster and bronze sculptures contrast with smaller portraits and project drawings. The Gallery and Studio on the ground floor preserve the scale of the spaces in which the monumental works were conceived and made.

Context and history

Andersen settled in Rome in 1897. With architect Ernest Hébrard he published his World Centre project in 1913. Villa Helene was built in 1922–1925 and altered in 1935. After Andersen's death in 1940, his bequest passed to the Italian state subject to a life interest. Restoration later prepared the house for its opening as a museum in December 1999.