Edgar Degas
Degas's only showing of sculpture during his life took place in 1881 when he exhibited "The Little Dancer of Fourteen Years". A nearly life-size wax figure with real hair and dressed in a cloth tutu, it provoked a strong reaction from critics, most of whom found its realism extraordinary but denounced the dancer as ugly. In a review, J.-K. Huysmans wrote: "The terrible reality of this statuette evidently produces uneasiness in the spectators; all their notions about sculpture, about those cold inanimate whitenesses ... are here overturned. The fact is that with his first attempt Monsieur Degas has revolutionized the traditions of sculpture as he has long since shaken the conventions of painting."
Ellen Price
In 1889 - 1895, Price was trained at school of Royal Danish Ballet and joined the theater of Royal Danish Ballet; she debuted on May, 28th 1895 with a pas de trois in the ballet "Window" (La Ventana) written by composer Hans Christian Lumbye and choreographed by August Bournonville. In 1903, she became a prima ballerina of Royal Danish Ballet. Her roles included "La Sylphide", "Cinderella", and "Little Mermaid".
The role of the Little Mermaid gave her the most unexpected glory. The ballet "The Little Mermaid", based on Hans Christian Andersen's fairy-tale and set to music by Fini Henriques, was put by the choreographer Hans Beck (1861–1952) in 1909 with the Royal Danish Ballet. Among spectators of ballet had been Danish brewer and art collector Carl Jacobsen; the ballet left such a strong impression on him that he commissioned sculptor Edvard Eriksen to create a statue of the Little Mermaid. Though Price agreed to model for the statue, she refused to pose nude and her likeness was only used for the head of the statue. For the body of the statue, Eriksen used his wife Eline Eriksen as a model. The bronze statue that Eriksen created was unveiled on 23 August 1913 and presented to the city by Jacobsen. "The Little Mermaid" statue has since become a symbol of Copenhagen.