Tycho Brahe monument in Copenhagen, 2007 photo

What it is

This is a photograph, taken in 2007 by Christian Bickel, of a dark stone bust of a bearded man with a large mustache and a ruff collar. He wears a fur-trimmed cloak, a chain, and a crown-shaped pendant. The bust sits on a square pedestal engraved with the name TYCHO BRAHE, in front of a brick wall. The monument is in Copenhagen, Denmark.

Why it matters

Brahe was a Danish astronomer who worked at the island observatory of Uraniborg and made some of the most precise naked-eye measurements of his time. Later Danes chose to honor him with monuments like this one. The bust shows how a later generation imagined his appearance, since the sculptor was not working from a living sitter.

Look closer

• What clothing and jewelry did the sculptor give Brahe, and what might those details say about his status?
• Why might a monument be made many years after a person's death?
• How reliable is a later statue as evidence of what someone really looked like?