.404 THORVALDSEN. — PLON (E.). 
 Throvaldsen, sa vie et son aeuvre P., 
 1867, in-4, cart, bradel moderne. (32/ 
 pp.), 2 ill. et 32 pi. gravees sur bois. 
 
 Ulrich Middeldorf 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 in 2013 
 
 http://archive.org/details/thorvaldsenlifeOOplon 
 
THORVALDSEN : 
 HIS LIFE AND WORKS. 
 
PORTRAIT OF THORVALDSEN, BY HORACE VERNET. 
 
Thorvaldsen : 
 
 HIS LIFE AND WORKS, 
 
 By EUGENE PLON. 
 
 TBANSLATED FBOM THE FMENCH BY L M. LUYSTEB, 
 
 31llu0tratei3 
 
 BY 
 
 TWO REPRODUCTIONS FROM STEEL ENGRAVINGS BY 
 F. GAILLAKD, 
 
 AND THIRTY-FIVE OF THE MASTER'S COMPOSITIONS, DRAWN BY 
 F. GAILLARD AND ENGRAVED ON WOOD BY 
 CARBONNEAU. 
 
 THIRD AMERICAN EDITION. 
 
 BOSTON: 
 ROBERTS BROTHERS. 
 1892. 
 
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1872, by 
 
 ROBERTS BROTHERS, 
 
 In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at "Washington. 
 
 John Wilson and Son, Cambkidgk, U.S.A. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 In publishing this work, I should deprive myself of a 
 pleasure and fail in a duty, did I not inscribe on the first 
 page the names of those generous strangers who have so 
 kindly aided me in m}' labors : Herr Professor Thiele, whose 
 publications are a mine of invaluable, authentic information ; 
 Herr Professor Mtiller, author of an excellent catalogue of 
 the Thorvaldsen Museum ; the venerable Professor Hoyen, 
 to whom I am indebted for man}^ useful communications ; 
 Herr Emile Wolff, a pupil of Thorvaldsen, still greatl}' under 
 the influence of the master's teachings ; and lastl}' m}^ 
 friends, Valdemar Hoskioer, Captain of Engineers, and Herr 
 Fr. Schumacher, attache to the minister of war, who, in 
 interesting themselves in m}^ researches at Copenhagen, ren- 
 dered my task easy and agreeable. 
 
 The Baroness von Stampe, to the great profit of my book, 
 ver}' kindl}^ sent for me, and in the most touching manner 
 communicated to me all her reminiscences of the illustrious 
 artist whose old age had been protected and made happy by 
 her filial affection. I beg leave respectfully to express to 
 her here m}^ deep gratitude. 
 
 Nor ought I to forget the kind patronage of M. Dotezac, 
 French envoy extraordinary and minister plenipotentiarj- at 
 
Vlll 
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 Copenhagen, to whom I was recommended by M. Feuillet de 
 Conches. M. Dotezac kindly presented me to Herr Vedel, 
 the under Secretary of foreign affairs, whose support was 
 invaluable to me in the prosecution of m}^ investigations. 
 
 Respecting those persons in Paris who have aided me by 
 their encouragement and information, I fear to name them, 
 lest I should appear to wish to make them share the respon- 
 sibility of a work of so little merit. But, however slight this 
 merit may be, it would have been still less without the coun- 
 sels they have given me. This is the onh^ acknowledgment 
 I am permitted to make. 
 
 [The following translation has been made from a revised copy, 
 kindly furnished by the author.] 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 PART I. 
 LIFE OF THORVALDSEN. 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Page 
 
 Birth of Thorvaldsen. — Early Aptitude for Sculpture. — Stud- 
 ies at the Copenhagen Academy of Fine Arts. — His First 
 Successes. — Departure for Italy. — Voyage. — Arrival in 
 Rome 3 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Effect of the Antique Statues upon Thorvaldsen. — Zoega. — 
 Pecuniary Difficulties. — Ill-health. — Political Troubles. — 
 Mr. Hope and the "Jason." — Anna Maria. — " The Abduc- 
 tion of Briseis " .23 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Baron von Humboldt. — Ranch. — The " Adonis." — The Two 
 " Hebcs." — The " Triumph of Alexander." — Grand Duchess 
 of Tuscany. — Baroness von Schubart. — "Night and Morn- 
 ing." — The " Venus." — iEgina Marbles. — Byron. — The 
 " Hope." — Princess Baryatinska.~The " Mercury."— " The 
 Three Graces " 41 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Miss Mackenzie Seaforth. — Illness of Thorvaldsen. — Stay at 
 Albano. — Convalescence. — Excursion to Naples. — Liai- 
 son with a Viennese Lady. — Departure for Denmark . 63 
 
 CHAPfER V. 
 
 The Lion of Lucerne. — Reception by the Academy of Copen- 
 hagen. — The True Kirke, or Church of Our Lady. — 
 Journey through Germany. — The Emperor Alexander. — 
 Monuments of Copernicus, Prince Poniatowski, Prince 
 Potocki. — Return to Rome 73 
 
TABLE OF CONTEJSTTIS. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Page 
 
 The Prince Royal of Denmark. —Prince Louis of Bavaria. — 
 *< Christ and the Apostles." — The " Preaching of St. John 
 the Baptist " — Consalvi. — Pius VII. — Cabals against 
 Thorvaldsen. — Leo XII. — Thorvaldsen President of the 
 Academy of St. Luke 8i 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 The Monument to Appiaui. — Criticisms upon it. — The Mon- 
 uments to Prince Schwarzenberg and to the Duke of Leuch- 
 tenberg. — The King of Bavaria in Rome. — The Grand 
 Duchess Helena. — Maria Louisa. — Bust of Napoleon. — 
 Medals stolen from Thorvaldsen. — Journey to Munich. — 
 Bartolini 103 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 Horaro Vernet. — Mendelssohn. — Troubles in Rome. — Atelier 
 and Garden of Thorvaldsen. — Roman Society. — The His- 
 tory of the God of Love. — Byron's Monument. — Walter 
 Scott. — " The Adonis." — Statue of Maximilian I. — Mon- 
 uments of Gutenberg and Schiller. — Departure of Vernet 
 — Cholera. — Thorvaldsen's Return to Denmark . . 117 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Arrival of Thorvaldsen in Copenhagen. — Enthusiastic Wel- 
 come. — Apartments in the Charlottenborg Palace. —The 
 Friie Kirke.— His Parsimony and Generosity. — Herr Thiele 139 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Baron Von Stampe and his Family. — Thorvaldsen at Nysoe. — 
 His Atelier at Stampeborg. — His Statue of Himself. — 
 "Christ's Entry into Jerusalem." — "Christ bearing the 
 Cross." — The Poet Andersen. — The Grand Cross of Dane- 
 brog. — King Christian VIII. — Statue of Christian IV. — 
 Wilkens 151 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 Departure for Rome. — Reception at Berlin, Dresden, Leipsic, 
 Frankfort, Mayence, and Stuttgart. — Banquet given at 
 Munich. — "La Societe des Hommes sans Gene."— Visit 
 to King Louis. — Sojourn in Rome. — Return to Denmark. 
 —The Artist and his Museum.— " The Genius of Sculpture." 
 — Death of Thorvaldsen. — His Funeral . . .109 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 xi 
 
 PART II. 
 
 WORKS OF THORVALDSEN. 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Page 
 
 Influence of the French School upon Art in Denmark, from the 
 time of Louis XIV. — The Academy of Fine Arts in Copen- 
 hagen. — Revival of Art in Italy under Winckelmann . 183 
 
 CHAPTER 11. 
 
 Theories of Winckelmann and Thorvaldsen. — Figures of Man- 
 hood: "Jason," "Mercury," "Vulcan," "Hercules." — 
 Youthful Figures: "Bacchus," "Ganymede," "Cupid," 
 " Apollo," " Adonis." — Goddesses : " Venus," " The Three 
 Graces," "Psyche," "Hebe." — Statue of the "Young 
 Dancing-Girl," and that of " Hope." — The iEgina Marbles 193 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Heroic and Mythological Bas-Reliefs. — Anacreontic Subjects. — 
 The " Shepherdess with the Nest of Loves." — The "Four 
 Ages of Life " 207 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Thorvaldsen considered as a Sculptor of Sacred Subjects. — 
 The Christ and the Twelve Apostles. — Friezes. — The 
 Pediment of the Frue Kirke of Copenhagen. — Sepulchral 
 Monuments 219 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Thorvaldsen's Rapidity of Conception. — Severity of his Judg- 
 ments upon his own Works. — The Fire of First Inspiration 
 tempered by Reflection. — Creative Genius. — Cauova. — 
 Bartolini. — Error of Mme. de Stajl. — The Scandinavian 
 Genius of Thorvaldsen applies the Principles of Greek Art 229 
 
xii TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 CATALOGUE OF THORVALDSEN'S WORKS. 
 SACRED SUBJECTS. 
 
 Page 
 
 I. Statues and Groups 241 
 
 II. Bas-Reliefs 245 
 
 § 1. Subjects from the Old Testament 245 
 
 § 2, Subjects from the New Testament 246 
 
 § 3. Angelic and Symbolic Figures 252 
 
 m. Sepulchral Monuments 254 
 
 PUBLIC AND COMMEMORATIVE MONUMENTS . . 262 
 
 MYTHOLOGICAL AND HEROIC SUBJECTS. 
 
 I. Groups and Statues 267 
 
 II. Bas-reliefs 277 
 
 § 1. Mythological Subjects 277 
 
 § 2. Heroic Subjects 295 
 
 ALLEGORICAL COMPOSITIONS 301 
 
 PORTRAITS. 
 
 1. Statues 306 
 
 11. Busts 308 
 
 III. INIedallions 316 
 
 DIVERS SUBJECTS. 
 
 I. Statues 317 
 
 II. Bas-reliefs 319 
 
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 Page 
 
 Venus facing page xvi 
 
 Mercury • . . " 180 
 
 Portrait of Thorvaldsen, by Horace Vernet. . Frontispiece 
 
 A Genio Lumen 2 
 
 Hope 3 
 
 Morning - . . . 22 
 
 Jason 23 
 
 Night 40 
 
 Cupid and Psyche 41 
 
 The Nest of Loves 62 
 
 Love Victorious 63 
 
 The Ages of Love 72 
 
 The Lion of Lucerne • . . 73 
 
 Vulcan forging Arrows for Cupid 84 
 
 Bacchus 85 
 
 Horseman, from the Frieze, "The Triumph of Alexander" 102 
 
 Ganymede 103 
 
 Cupid reviving the Faintlng Psyche 116 
 
 The Little Dancing-Girl 117 
 
 Cupid and Anacreon 138 
 
 The Three Graces 139 
 
 Winter 150 
 
xiv LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 Page 
 
 Thorvaldsen 151 
 
 The Genius of Death 168 
 
 The Angel of Baptism 1G9 
 
 Figure, from the Frieze, "The Triumph of Alexander" . 182 
 
 Psyche 183 
 
 Achilles and Priam 192 
 
 Adonis 193 
 
 Alexander in his Chariot, from the Frieze, "The Triuiuph 
 
 of Alexander" 206 
 
 Hebe 207 
 
 Rebecca and Eliezer 218 
 
 The Christ 219 
 
 The Arms of Achilles 228 
 
 Apollo 229 
 
 Facade of the Thorvaldsen Museum, Copenhagen ... 241 
 
 Pan and a Young Satyr 262 
 
 (jupiD and Bacchus 267 
 
 The Princess Baryatinska 306 
 
AUTHORITIES. 
 
 Den danske Billedhugger Bertel Thorvaldsen og lians Vcerker, af J. 
 M. Thiele, t. I-IV. 1831-50, m-40. 
 
 Thorvaldsen o{/ hans Vcerker. ^Ny Udgave. Texten forkortet ved 
 F. C. HiLLERUP, t. I-IV. Med 205 Kobb. (III-IV ogsar 
 under Titel : Thorvaldsens Arbeider og Livsforliold i Tidsrum 
 met 1828-1844.) Kbh. 1842-57, m-4". Samrae Voerk med 
 tydsk Titel og Text. ib. 1842-57, in-4°. 
 
 Om den danske Billedhugger Bertel Thorvaldsen, vcd J. M. Thiele, 
 1837. Overs, paa Islandsk af M. Hakonarson, 1841. 
 
 Thorvaldsens Biographic. Efter den afdude Kunstners Brevvexlin- 
 ger, egenhoendige Optegnelser og andre efterladtc Fapirer, ved 
 J. M. TiiiKLE. 1.-4. Deel. I. Thorvaldsens Ungdomshislorie 
 (1770-1804). — II-III. Thorvaldsen i Rom (1805-1839). 1.-2. 
 D. Med Thorvaldsens Portrait. — IV. Thorvaldsen i Kjobenhavn 
 (1839-1844. Kbh. 1851-56). 
 
 Thorvaldsens Museum. En Fremstilling af alle Kunstnerens Ar- 
 beider, der ere samlcdc i Museet; ordnede efter Afdelingerne, 
 ledsaget af et Omrids af Thorvaldsens Livsforhold og Kunst- 
 nervirksomhed, ved H. P. Holst. Kjobenhavn, 1851. 
 
 Thorvaldsen'' s Jugend, 1770-1804, vom J. M TfflELE. Aus dcm 
 Danischen von Hans Wachenhusev. Berlin, 1851, gr. in-8". 
 
 Thorvaldsen'' s Lehen nach den eigenhandigen Aufzeichnungen nach- 
 gelassencn Papieren undem vlem Briefwechsel des Kiinstlers, von 
 J. M. Thiele. Deutsch unter MJiwirkung des Verfasscrs von 
 Henkik Helms. 1.-3. Bd. ]\IiT dem Portrait Thorvaldsen's 
 nach Eckersberg in Stahl-gestochen von Weger. Leipzig, 1852- 
 J85G. 
 
xvi 
 
 AUTHOBITIES. 
 
 The Life of Thorvaldsen. Collated from the Danish of J. M. Thtele, 
 by R. Barnard. London, 1865. 
 
 Description des ceuvres de Thorvaldsen au 3Iusee Thorvaldsen et de- 
 scription des collections d'objcts d'art ayant appartenu au maitre, 
 par L. MuLLER, inspecteur du Musee. 3 vol. in-8". Copenhague, 
 1849. 
 
 Bertel Thorvaldsen, a biographical sketch by Andersex. Copen- 
 hagen, 1845. 
 
 Galerie des contemporains illustres, par un homme de rien. M. Thor- 
 valdsen, by De Lomenie. Paris, 1845. 
 
 Thorvaldsen the Dane, by Madame Fredkricka Brun. This inter- 
 esting memoir, published by tRe Morgenblatt in 1812, has 
 served as the basis of all that has since been written upon the 
 earlier portion of Thorvaldsen's life (Nagler.) 
 
 Article Thorvaldsen, in the Nouveau Dictionnaire universel des ar- 
 ctstes, by Nagler. 
 
VENUS. 
 
PART I. 
 
 LIFE OF THORVALDSEN. 
 
A GENIO LUMEN. 
 
LIFE OF THORVALDSEN. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Birth of Thorvaldsen. — Early Aptitude for Sculpture. — Studies at 
 the Copenhagen Academy of Fine Arts. — Ills first Successes. — 
 Departure for Italy, — Voyage. — Arrival in Rome. 
 
 When tlic toml) has closed over a 
 great artist, and the lapse of years, 
 exerting a softening influence, has 
 moderated both admiration and envy, 
 it becomes the duty of his contem- 
 poraries to gather up with prudent 
 foresight all facts concerning the illus- 
 trious dead, while his memory is still 
 fresh in the minds of men. 
 
 It is well known how valuable the 
 biographies bequeathed to us by Va- 
 sari are, as materials for a history of 
 art. We have no intention, however, 
 of undertaking a work so extensive 
 as that of the Italian author, which 
 includes several generations of cele- 
 brated painters. We have limited 
 oiu'selves to the study of the life and 
 works of one artist. But, in the nar- 
 row field to which we are restricted. 
 
 HOPE. 
 
4 
 
 LIFE OF TIIOnVALDSEN. 
 
 we have neglected no means of obtaining information, 
 whether from persons who knew the master personally, 
 or from others who might be acquainted with any facts 
 respecting his habits of life or his works. We have col- 
 lected everything to the minutest detail, in the hopo that 
 the materials thus brought together may, one day, )e of 
 service to some future historian of art. The life of every 
 great man, moreover, has a character of its own, and is 
 worthy of study, aside from the interest attached to his 
 works. 
 
 The sculptor, whose life we propose to write and whose 
 works we shall describe, pla^^ed an important part in the 
 great revival of art, which, beginning with Mengs and 
 Winckelmann, was continued by David, Canova, and Bar- 
 tolini, through the last of the eighteenth and the beginning 
 of the nineteenth century. 
 
 Albert, or Bertel,i Thorvaldsen was born in Copen- 
 hagen, Nov. 19, 1770. His father, Gottskalk Thorvaldsen, 
 was a poor wood-carver ; his mother, Karen Gronlund, was 
 
 1 In Danish, Bertel is the familiar equivalent for Bartholomew. Thorvaldsen was 
 BO called by his family and friends. The Italians changed Bertel into Alberto ; and 
 by this name he was known to all his acquaintances in Rome, whether Italians or 
 foreigners. Biographers do not agree about the year of Thorvaldsen's birth. Some 
 say 1771 ; others, 1772. But the artist himself always assei'ted that he was born in 
 1770 ; which is the date Herr Thiele has given in his Danish biography, and, follow- 
 ing him. Nagler in the JSTouveau Dictionnaire Universel des Artistes. It is, by a very 
 evident typographical error, that David d' Angers, in a letter pubUshed in 1S44, which 
 attracted much attention, speaks of his birth as occurring in 1"79. There have been 
 mistakes also about the day of the month. Michaud gives the the 9th of November, 
 and de Lomenie in hi^ Galerie des Contemporains Illustres, jiar un homme de 
 rien, the 29th. Nagler's only authority for the 19th is Herr Haste's old memorandum 
 book. Herr Haste, a respectable magistrate, was in his youth a playmate of Thor- 
 valdsen. As a boy he was in the habit of recording the birthdays of his companions. 
 In reply to the questions of Herr Thiele, he stated that he believed that he got the date 
 in his note-book from Thorvaldsen's mother. What appears a good reason for consid- 
 ering tlie 19th the correct date, is the fact that Thorvaldsen when in Denmark always 
 celebrated his birthday on that day. But there is still another dilliculty. It is not 
 seven cities, as in Homer's case, which dispute for the honor of being Thorvaldsen's 
 birthplace, but two islands and the open sea. While in some bioernphies he sees 
 
LIFE OF THORVALDSEN. 
 
 5 
 
 the daughter of a Jutland peasant. ^ Gottskalk's skill was 
 limited to carving rudely figure-heads for merchant-vessels. 
 This employment barel}^ sufficed to support, in a very humble 
 way, his family, but it gave the first impulse to the mind of 
 Bertel. While still a child, he helped his father, and began 
 to carve in wood. There were still living, a few years ago, 
 old carpenters who recollected perfectly the pretty child, 
 with blue eyes and light hair, who used to come to see his 
 father in the ship-yards of Copenhagen. All who saw the 
 boy were attracted by him. 
 
 Bertel was gentle and timid in disposition. The following 
 anecdote of his childhood was related to us by the poet 
 Andersen, one of the most intimate friends of his latter 
 years. 
 
 the light first in Iceland, David d'xingers (or M. Charles Blanc, rather, who lent him 
 his pen), De Lomenie, and Michaud assert, on the authority of another tradition, 
 that his mother brought him into the world dui'ing a passage from llcjkjavick to 
 Copenhagen. No doubt this version lends more charm to the narrative, but it is 
 incorrect, as we have been assured by the friend and biographer of the artist. 
 Thorvaldsen was born in Copenhagen, in the house in the t^tore Gronnon-G-ade, 
 which is now number 7, but was formerly, when the houses were numbered by 
 districts, number 255. Ilcrr Thiele was kind enough to take us there. 
 
 1 Accordmg to the learned genealogists of Iceland (John 'Es^olm, Annals of 7f^e- 
 Zd/ifZ^, Thorvaldsen could boast of an origin as ancient as it was illustrious. Tlioy 
 trace his genealogy back to the eighth century ; for. according to their tables, the known 
 ancestors of the artist were descended from Ilarald Hildctand, king of Denmark, 
 who, in consequence of the civil wars, was obliged to abandon his country and seek 
 an asylum, first in Norway and afterward in Iceland, where one of his descendants, 
 Oluf Paa (the peacock), became a powerful chief, famous in the sagas of Landol and 
 in the songs of the hards, who praised his generosity and taste for the arts. This 
 chieftain, who flourished in the twelfth century, himself carved in wood. He enjoyed 
 great celebrity in his day, and his fame still lives among the Scandinavian nations. 
 One might say, therefore, that Oluf, after the lapse of several centuries, lived again 
 in the person of Thorvaldsen. Such long descents are, however, much less legendary 
 than we might suppose, for Iceland is the classic land of genealogies; and those 
 which do not go back farther than the eighth century are not considered worthy of 
 discussion by the savans of the North. At all events it is certain that in the four- 
 teenth century there lived in Southern Iceland a wealthy man, highly respected. Odd 
 Petersen by name, whose family and descendants almost always held honorabl ■ 
 positions in the civil government of Iceland. One of them, Thorvald Gottskalkeii. 
 pastor of Myklabyc, having only a moderate fortune, sent his two sons to Copen- 
 hagen. The elder, Ari, apprenticed to a jeweller, died young. The younger. 
 Gottskalk, who had some talent for wood-carving, found employment in the shi])- 
 yards. At twenty-seven he married, and he was the father of Bertel. fcee Thiele. 
 
6 
 
 LIFE OF THORVALDSEN. 
 
 Bertel was pla3^iiig one day, with other children of his 
 age, in the " Kongens Nj^torv," the " King's New-Market," 
 near the equestrian statue of Christian V, who is repre- 
 sented as trampling under his horse's feet the monster 
 Envy.i His mischievous companions, surprising him before 
 the statue in childlike contemplation, partl}^ with his con- 
 sent and partly by force hoisted him up on the horse, and 
 then took to flight. The poor bewildered child kept as still 
 as the ro3^al cavalier himself; and a comical spectacle it must 
 have been to see him, with his red cotton cap, riding in such 
 illustrious compan}^ But the gendarmes were just passing 
 that way, and, like true gendarmes, they hastened to carry 
 off to the police-station, not the authors, but the victim, of 
 the misdemeanor. 
 
 Little Bertel early manifested a precocious taste for sculp- 
 ture. Though Gottskalk had no art-education himself, he 
 was wise enough to cultivate carefully a talent in his son, 
 which flattered his paternal vanity. It is not probable that 
 the honest artisan foresaw the glorious destin}^ in store for 
 his child ; but he was sensible enough to see that, with some 
 knowledge of drawing, the son might one day do better than 
 the father. The boy was sent, therefore, when he was 
 eleven years old, to the free school of the Royal Academy 
 of Fine Arts ; and in two j^ears he made so much progress, 
 that he was very soon able to render valuable assistance to 
 Gottskalk, whose carvings, thanks to his son, were hence- 
 forward distinguished for more correct drawing and some 
 appreciation of form. 
 
 Bertel, however, did not show equal aptitude for other 
 branches of study which had no direct bearing on his voca- 
 tion. During the six 3'ears he passed at the school of Char- 
 lottenborg he displa^-ed so little zeal that the chaplain, 
 H63^er, looked upon him as ver3^ deficient in elementary 
 
 ' This statue, of the date of 16SS, is in the mannered style of the sculptor Abra- 
 ham Cajsar L'Amoureux. 
 
LIFE OF THORVALDSEN. 
 
 7 
 
 knowledge, and when the time came for the pupils to pre- 
 pare for their first commmiion put him in the lowest class 
 of the catechism. The distribution of prizes at the Acad- 
 emy occurred at the same time, and Bertel obtained as the 
 reward of his application the small silver medal. The Co- 
 penhagen journals mentioning the fact, the name of the 
 successful candidate attracted the notice of the chaplain, 
 who asked his pupil : — 
 
 "Thorvaldsen, is it a brother of yours who has just taken 
 a prize at the Academy ? " 
 
 The pupil looked up, blushing with surprise. " It is my- 
 self, Herr Chaplain." 
 
 The priest, who had come to look upon Bertel as quite 
 a dunce, was astounded at this revelation. He changed his 
 tone directly. " Herr Thorvaldsen," said he, " please to 
 pass up to the first class." 
 
 At this word " Herr," the boy was electrified. Hence- 
 forward the professor always addressed him by that title, a 
 distinction which gave Bertel a position apart in the class, 
 and made such an impression upon him that he never forgot 
 it. In after years, famous and loaded with more honors than 
 ever fell to the lot of an artist, the master would frequently 
 say to his friends, when his thoughts reverted to his youth, 
 that glory had never been so sweet as on that day when 
 his boy's heart thrilled with rapture. 
 
 Thorvaldsen was seventeen years old (1787) when he 
 gained this first prize. Far from entertaining an exagger- 
 ated notion of his own merit, he only worked the harder. 
 Calm, serious, reserved even, he said but little, and when 
 he once had taken up his pencils and set himself to work, 
 his companions found it difficult to divert his attention. 
 We have said that his father intended to make him his 
 partner in his humble toil, and the young man willingl}^ 
 yielded to his parent's wishes. He still carried to the ship- 
 yard Gottskalk's dinner ; and, while he was resting, Bertel 
 
8 
 
 LIFE OF THORVALDSEN. 
 
 would take up his chisel and correct as well as finish his 
 work. 
 
 Two years later (1789) Thorvaldsen gained another prize. 
 A bas-relief, "Love in Repose," won for him the large silver 
 medal. Gottskalk now came to the conclusion that his son 
 was sufficiently instructed to devote himself entirely to the 
 career he had chosen for him. Bertel made no objection, but 
 the painter Abildgaard, who was his teacher at the Academ}', 
 had discovered too much talent in the boy to be willing to 
 abandon him to a calling so unworthy of his nascent powers. 
 He was sincerely attached to his pupil, and, while his fel- 
 low-students were trying to persuade Thorvaldsen to re- 
 main at the school, the professor went to find Gottskalk. 
 The two had some difficulty in coming to an understanding. 
 The father anticipated for his son, if he kept him with him, 
 a humble condition in life to be sure, but one which would, 
 he believed, assure to him a certain livelihood, while he 
 looked upon a more ambitious career, in which he could 
 no longer follow him, as an unknown path, fraught with 
 dangers. 
 
 It was nevertheless decided that the young man should 
 divide his time in two nearly equal portions, one to be de- 
 voted to academic studies, so that he might have a basis of 
 solid knowledge to aid him in his profession, the other to 
 the labor by which he was to eai'u his daily bread. He still 
 continued to live with his parents, in a little house in Aaben- 
 raa, and contrived to satisfy both his father^ and Abildgaard. 
 Bertel now began to sketch in relief and carve detached 
 figures in stone. His first work worthy of mention is a 
 medallion of the Princess of Denmark, made in 1790, from 
 
 1 A large wooden clock, bequeathed to the Thorvaldsen Museum several years ago, 
 and placed in the room devoted to the sculptor's furniture, is a work of this period. 
 The shield, bearing the arms of Denmark, above the door of the Royal Dispensary, 
 was jointly carved by father and son. A more artistic work, which they also ex- 
 ecuted together, is the group of four lions around a circle in front of the entrance- 
 way to the gardens of Fredericsberg Castle, the summer residence of the sovereign. 
 
LIFE OF TIIOEVALDSEJSr. 
 
 9 
 
 a poor picture ; for the young artist could only have had a 
 glimpse of the princess in passing. This portrait was, how- 
 ever, a great success, and the resemblance is so striking that 
 the dealer who bought the model disposed of a considerable 
 number of copies. 
 
 Thorvaldsen worked usually from the designs of other 
 artists, and especialty from those of his teacher Abildgaard. 
 A woman holding a telescope, placed on the pediment of a 
 building near the Custom House, was executed from a de- 
 sign of the painter Nicholas AYolff. 
 
 The slightest efforts of an artist of real merit are deserving 
 of notice, because they are the experimental attempts of a 
 mind seeking its true direction. It is for this reason that 
 we mention some productions of the young sculptor which 
 otherwise would not be worthy of a place in the enumeration 
 of his works. " Love in Repose," for example, which, from 
 a reverent respect, is preserved in the museum of the master, ^ 
 is, in fact, no more than the work of a promising beginner. 
 The Academy possesses the other bas-reliefs for which the 
 young Thorvaldsen obtained his early prizes ; the first is 
 " The Expulsion of Heliodorus from the Temple." 
 
 Bertel prepared himself for the approaching competitive 
 examination, in company with several of his friends, young 
 men of his own age. With this end in view they met 
 once a week and practised at composing subjects, taken 
 for the most part from the Old and New Testaments. 
 While his comrades were discussing, Thorvaldsen, ever more 
 inclined to act than to talk, would be already bus}^ with his 
 clay, or perhaps his bread, and before the others had settled 
 the questions about which they were arguing, he would have 
 finished his model. This trait is characteristic ; it shows 
 the artist's turn of mind. Throughout his whole life he pre- 
 ferred to apply rather than discuss the theories of which he 
 
 1 This bas-relief is in one of the underground galleries. 
 
lO 
 
 LIFE OF TIIOEVALDSEN. 
 
 approved. We shall find that he left behind him no written 
 expression of his views upon art ; and there is nothing in 
 his few hitters to show that he ever thought of attempting to 
 expound its principles . He translated his ideas into marble ; 
 it was with the chisel, never with the pen, that he expressed 
 the force of his convictions. 
 
 But at the time of which we are now writing, he was far 
 from thinking he had nothing more to learn. Naturalh' 
 diffident, he distrusted his own powers, and did not conceal 
 his dread of the approaching competition from his fellow- 
 students, who at last made his fears the subject for raillery. 
 
 Nevertheless, upon the 1st of June, 1791, he presented 
 himself with the rest, and when the subject was given re- 
 tired to his work-room. But he was scarcel}" installed there 
 before he was seized with fright, and stole out by a private 
 stairway. Just as he was escaping, he was met by one of 
 the i^rofessors, who scolded him gently, and by a few kind 
 words encouraged him to go back. The young man, a little 
 ashamed of his escapade, obe^'ed, and set himself to work 
 with so much earnestness that in the space of four hours he 
 had finished the sketch of Heliodorus, which gained for him 
 the small gold medal. 
 
 Looking at this work to-day, we can scarcel}^ conceive how 
 Thorvaldsen could have been the author of it. In its excel- 
 lences, as well as in its defects, this bas-relief is entirely out 
 of harmon}^ with the other works of the master. It is fre- 
 quentl}' the case, however, that artists begin by following the 
 traditions of the schools. They cannot, in their youthful 
 inexperience, do otherwise. It is only when they have mnde 
 themselves known b}' some work in conformity to the taste 
 of their day, that, encouraged b}^ their first success, they 
 can cast olf their fetters and strike out a new path for 
 themselves. 
 
 In " Heliodorus," the composition is wanting in dignity, 
 tlie scene is confused, and the figures have no naturalness ; 
 
LIFE OF THOBVALDSEN. 
 
 but the work was in accordance with the ideas of the times, 
 and the execution showed talent enough in the young artist 
 to attract the attention of his contemporaries. The Minister 
 of State, Herr Detler von Reventlow, noticed the bas-relief 
 and had it cast. He encouraged Tliorvaldsen, and headed a 
 subscription, set on foot by the painter Wolff, to obtain for 
 the sculptor the leisure necessary for the completion of his 
 studies. It was the wish of his patrons that he should turn 
 his attention to subjects drawn from pagan antiquit3\ Bertel 
 accordingly composed " Priam begging Achilles for the Body 
 of Hector." ^ Thorvaldsen treated the same subject in a 
 later composition, but ver}^ differently. It is interesting to 
 compare the youthful effort with the mature and masterly 
 work. The first is commonplace : an old man is kneeling, a 
 young man raises him with kindness. But there is nothing 
 to indicate at first sight who the personages are, nor is there 
 an3^thing dramatic in the action. What grandeur, on the 
 contrar}^, and what energy in the second ! This old man is 
 Priam, the unhappy father of Hector ; this warrior, with 
 steadfast gaze and frowning brow, is Achilles ; we feel that 
 his breast is swelling with that terrible wrath which the poet 
 sings. Will he yield to pity ? or will he be unmoved by a 
 father's immeasurable grief! The companions of the hero 
 await the end with anxiet3\ And, to produce so striking an 
 effect, the artist has not had recourse to forced attitudes ; 
 the composition is simple, and all the figures are natural. 
 Still the first work is not wholly without merit. It is said 
 that Bishop Frederic Miinter, a man of taste and judgment, 
 was so satisfied on this point that he predicted Thorvaldsen 
 would become one of the great sculptors of his age. Com- 
 pared with the " Heliodorus," "Priam" shows a marked 
 progress, especially in a certain degree of simplicity and 
 
 1 This work, when he left Copenhagen for Rome, he gave as a parting gift to the 
 engraver Lahde. It was afterwards purchased by the Danish Government and 
 placed in the Academy's collection. 
 
12 
 
 LIFE OF THOBVALBSEN. 
 
 naturalness. We begin to see how the study of the an- 
 tique is finally to give the talent of the artist its true 
 direction. 
 
 At the same period, Thorvaldsen modelled a smaller bas- 
 relief, " Hercules and Omphale" ; and in 1793 he competed 
 for an important prize, the result of which was to decide, 
 in a great measure, his future career. If he obtained the 
 great gold medal, he would be entitled to travel three years 
 at the expense of the Academy. In now presenting him- 
 self as a candidate, he had no longer any apprehension, 
 though he was not sustained by a presumptuous confidence. 
 " Saint Peter healing the Paralytic " gained him the grand 
 prize. 1 
 
 Some biographers have represented Thorvaldsen as wholly 
 uninstructed at this period. It is clear that this statement 
 is exaggerated. The professors of the Academ}^ were ac- 
 customed to give their pupils the best works in sculpture 
 and design as models for study; and in the " Saint Peter" 
 we already detect signs of an imitation, and a sort of 
 reminiscence of the compositions of Raphael. We shall 
 see farther on that all the religious works of the sculptor 
 show marks of this admiration for the great painter, just as 
 his statues and bas-reliefs from pagan subjects are imbued 
 with the spirit of Greek antiquity. At the same time, it 
 is only right to say that outside of the special knowledge 
 acquired in pursuit of his art, Thorvaldsen was profoundly 
 ignorant. Literature and history were almost sealed books 
 to him, and at no period of his life was he a man of literary'' 
 culture. 
 
 The pension attached to the grand prize for sculpture, 
 which allowed the successful competitor to travel three 3-ears, 
 was then held b}" another ; and, while waiting for it, Thor- 
 valdsen remained in Copenhagen. To enable him to continue 
 
 1 This bas-relief is in the Academy. 
 
LIFE OF THOBVALDSEN. 
 
 13 
 
 his studies, the Academy granted him pecuniar}^ assistance 
 for two 3'ears. As he was also able to get some emplo}^- 
 ment, he was, therefore, in tolerably easy circumstances. 
 He drew vignettes for the publishers,^ taught modelling to a 
 certain number of wealthy persons, and gave lessons in draw- 
 ing. He also took some portraits, mostly drawn on parch- 
 ment and slightl}^ colored.^ 
 
 A few medallion portraits, one of the painter Wolff, and 
 another of the phj^sician Herr Saxtorff, are works of this 
 period; also two bas-reliefs, "The Seasons" and "The 
 Hours," from designs by Abildgaard, and four original com- 
 positions, — a "Euterpe," a "Terpsichore," and two other 
 Muses. 
 
 The painter Abildgaard, to w^hom belongs the honor of 
 being the first to discover and encourage Thorvaldsen's 
 talent, nevertheless exercised over him but little influence. 
 This artist, who was full of mannerisms, enjoyed a popularity 
 not at all surprising at this epoch. Without doubt, Thor- 
 valdsen's earliest works necessarily show marks of his mas- 
 ter's teachings. This is particularly noticeable in a small 
 group, one of his most 3'outhful efforts, and extremely me- 
 diocre, representing a woman seated and giving drink to two 
 young boys, whose attitudes are YQYy unnatural. 
 
 But while the sculptor, as soon as he had conquered his 
 hesitation and gained confidence, boldly diverged from the 
 style of his master, he still retained in his drawings (and this 
 is ver}^ remarkable) Abildgaard's mode of working, for this 
 painter drew from nature with much talent. There are in 
 the rooms of the Academ}^ some large anatomical studies by 
 him which are truly fine. Though the attitudes are in gen- 
 
 1 Thalia, by Haste; Tales of the North, by Suhm; Prose Essai/s, by Ilah- 
 bcck. 
 
 2 Some of these portraits have been found. Herr Thiele owns a little black 
 Kilhouctte. pleasing and delicate, of the young Bertel, drawn by himself and given to 
 liis friund the flo-"'er-painter Fritsch. 
 
14 
 
 LIFE OF THOBVALDSEN. 
 
 eral forced, the drawing is firm, correct, and sharp. To the 
 end of his life Thorvaldsen drew according to the principles 
 which Abildgaard had inculcated. 
 
 In his youth Bertel talked but little, and his clear eye was 
 not exempt from a certain melancholy difficult to explain. 
 Naturally timid, and unused to societj^, his was not an ex- 
 pansive nature ; he was indolent too, except in matters 
 appertaining to sculpture ; and if he learned anything beyond 
 his art, it was by observation only, or by intercourse with 
 educated men. The last years which he passed at Copenha- 
 gen before his departure for Rome, modified somewhat the 
 excessive reserve of which he might hitherto have been 
 accused, and he who until then had never been known to 
 laugh often participated in the gayety of his comrades. 
 
 Two 3^ears had now elapsed since Thorvaldsen had ob- 
 tained the grand prize for sculpture, and still the pension 
 which was to give him the means of travelling was not jQi 
 at his command. Meanwhile, the term for which the Acad- 
 emy had granted him pecuniary aid was drawing to a close. 
 He petitioned that this aid might be continued for a 3'ear 
 longer, and presented at the same time to the Academy a 
 small bas-relief, " Numa consulting the nymph Egeria,"i 
 rather a graceful work, but still marred by the forced atti- 
 tude of the figures. His petition was granted, and he re- 
 ceived also the assurance that the pension would be his the 
 following 3'ear. 
 
 While remaining at Copenhagen, he modelled the bust of 
 the Minister of State, Ilerr von Bernstoff*, for Herr von Re- 
 ventlow. He had never seen the minister, and was obliged 
 to work from a painted portrait ; but for the last few touches 
 he obtained from him, with difficult}^, a sitting of a few 
 moments. He was nevertheless successful in getting a like- 
 ness. The work is also fairly executed. He undertook, 
 
 1 In one of the basement galleries of the Thorvaldsen Museum. 
 
LIFE OF THOBVALDSEN. 
 
 15 
 
 under much more favorable circumstances, the bust of the 
 Counsellor of State, Tyge Rothe. These two works are the 
 first in order of date now in the Thorvaldsen Museum. 
 Though the models were finished at Copenhagen, he did not 
 put them into marble until after his arrival at Rome. 
 
 The 20th of Ma}^, 1796, Thorvaldsen embarked on the 
 "Thetis," for Naples. The artist, who was never to see his 
 parents ^ again, left his country recommended to the captain, 
 Ilerr Fisker, by the Count von Bernstofi", and furnished with 
 a few letters for Rome. The voyage was long and tedious. 
 After cruising in the North Sea, the "Thetis*' touched at 
 Malaga, Algiers, and then at Malta, where she was obliged 
 to submit to a severe quarantine. After again setting sail, 
 she encountered on her way to Tripoli a violent storm, and 
 had to put back to Malta for repairs. 
 
 Ever disposed to reject all study but that of sculpture, 
 Thorvaldsen lived on board in complete idleness. His time 
 was passed in conversation, or oftener in reverie, and his sole 
 occupation was jotting down in a sketch-book a few notes, 
 which illustrate the young artist's simplicity of character. 
 From this sketch-book, preserved in the Museum with many 
 other papers, we make a few extracts. 
 
 MAI.TA, 18 December, 1796. 
 
 At quarantine. — Morning as fine as one can imagine. We have 
 just been told that we are disinfected and free. The cold is not quite 
 so sharp as it is with us on a fine autumn morning. With the knight 
 who brought the good news came seven boat-loads of musicians of 
 all kinds ; they took their stations under our cabin windows, and 
 regaled us with what doubtless these people know how to do best. 
 It is not good, and yet not altogether bad. But the beautiful morn- 
 ing, the novelty, the hatred and distrust of the Maltese, all at once 
 changed into friendship and careless security; above all, the old 
 dream of Italian music on the water, realized more or less before my 
 
 1 His mother died in 1804, and bis father in 1806. 
 
i6 
 
 LIFE OF THOBVALDSEN. 
 
 eyes, all combined made it seem to my ears the most delicious music, 
 although it consisted for the most part of serenade airs, which are 
 rarely played at a fitting time or place. 
 
 Malta, 16 January, 1797. 
 
 At five o'clock this afternoon I leave the frigate, which goes hence 
 to Tripoli. Seated in the cutter, I am pained to see her disappear. 
 I can scarcely hide my tears from the vice-consul, who with the pilot 
 and another man, a stranger, is in the boat with me. I jump on 
 shore. The pilot points out to me the captain of the " Speronara," 
 with whom I am to sail for Palermo. He comes back immediately. 
 He tries to console me when he notices my dejection. I sup at his 
 house ; he then shows me my lodgings, which will do very well. 
 
 17 January. 
 
 I go to bed, and at last to sleep. My host comes to wake me, me 
 and Hector, my dog; he embraces me afiectionately. I leave the 
 house and go on board the "Speronara," for a change of linen; 
 thence to the Danish brig to see the captain, but he is on shore. I 
 go back to my lodgings ; on the way, Hector plays his pranks, chases 
 the goats, who jump and caper. He trips up a little girl carrying a 
 baby, but does no harm. Then he knocks down a little boy ; every- 
 body laughs. 
 
 These notes show the natural kind-heartedness of the 
 young Scandinavian. There is no doubt that he was deeply 
 moved by music, statues, and pictures ; but the exploits of 
 Hector he cannot forget. Hector trips up a little girl with- 
 out hurting her ; he knocks down a little boy, and people 
 laugh ! Truly he is a dog worthy of his name. Like all 
 dreamers, Thorvaldsen loves this sympathetic animal, whose 
 discreet familiarity never interrupts the current of his ideas. 
 A dog is always ready for play when weary with thinking we 
 seek to be diverted. Where find a friend more patient, more 
 accommodating, more content to be quiet, more ready for 
 society and sport ? What better friend for the poet who is 
 composing his verses, or for the sculptor whose imagination 
 
LIFE OF THORVALDSEN. 
 
 17 
 
 is perfecting a masterpiece ? The dogs of Thorvaldsen ought 
 to have a place in his biograph}'. 
 
 The captain of the " Thetis," who had promised to watch 
 over Thorvaldsen, was as good as his word. He became 
 fond of the young artist who, as we have alread}' seen, was 
 distressed at parting with him. Nevertheless the captain, 
 who had led a hard and active life, did not approve of the 
 idleness of his youthful charge. In a letter to his wife dated 
 Malta, Dec. 29, 1796, he writes : — 
 
 "Thorvaldsen is still here, but looking out, at last, for an oppor- 
 tunity to go to Rome. He is very well : you can let his parents 
 know. God knows what will become of him ! He is so thoroughly 
 lazy, that he has had no wish to write himself, and while on board he 
 would not learn a word of the Italian language, though the chaplain 
 and I both offered to teach him. I have resolved to send him to our 
 ambassador at Naples, so that he may forward him to Rome. The 
 young man has an annual pension of four hundred crowns, and may 
 God help him I He has a big dog whom he has christened Hector. 
 He sleeps late in the morning, and thinks only about his comforts 
 and his eating. But everybody likes him because he is such a good 
 fellow." 
 
 In another letter the captain again says : " He is an honest 
 boy, but a lazy rascal." 
 
 It is curious to see such a judgment pronounced in good 
 faith and with an appearance of truth upon one who sub- 
 sequently became one of the most prolific and laborious 
 sculptors of his time. Who knows, however, what germi- 
 nating process, unperceived, perhaps, even by the artist 
 himself, was going on under this seeming idleness ? 
 
 Thorvaldsen, as we have seen, had decided to cross over 
 to Palermo. We give a few more extracts from his jour- 
 nal : — 
 
 Palermo, January 25, 1797. 
 M. Mathe and the vice-consul take me to a palace which contains 
 some pictures by Rubens, and to a church painted by a Sicilian 
 
i8 
 
 LIFE OF THORVALDSEN. 
 
 named Mauuo. He has painted the ceiling, which is pretty well 
 done. This church has other good paintings, and a fine mouuineut. 
 We go afterward to call upon Manuo. He is a good ellow. He 
 shows us five pictures, among others a Saint Magdalen at prayer, 
 which is very good. The conversation turning upon the Academy, 
 he promises to take me there in the evening. I arrive while he is 
 dressing. He puts on his military uniform given him by the grand 
 master of Malta for painting a church, and takes us to the Academy, 
 Which is divided into three classes. I see the modelling class : it is 
 weak. 
 
 January 26. 
 
 I go out this morning, and meet my interpreter at M. Mathe's. 
 "We visit the cathedral which is now building, and also an atelier of 
 sculpture where there are several completed works. I only see one 
 which is very poor. I go through several other churches, and in the 
 evening to the opera. There are two or three excellent singers. 
 
 January 28. 
 
 The packet goes this morning at 7 o'clock, at the same time with 
 the Neapolitan frigate which acts as its convoy on account of the 
 Turks. The next day (Sunday, January 29), the crew imagine they 
 descry Naples, which is now only about eighty miles olf. I think we 
 shall arrive there before night. I begin to feel a little better. There 
 are several pretty women on board, and the prettiest one speaks 
 German. There are also some ill-looking creatures with hideous 
 faces, old women with tawny skins, and other people who are not 
 exactly gentlemen and ladies. They say I must pay for my dog; 
 there are so many passengers the poor beast can hardly find a place 
 to lie down ; they are packed together like smoked herrings in the 
 bottom of the hold. At ten o'clock we cast anchor in the bay of 
 Naples. 
 
 Naples, February 1. 
 
 I rise and dress at seven o'clock ; go on shore. A man comes up 
 to me and inquires if I want a domestique de place. I say no, but ask 
 him to conduct me to tiie piazza francese. He consents, but on the 
 way tells me that he is going to take me to a much better hotel ; that 
 that is detestable, and it really looked so. We pass through a great 
 number of streets. We arrive at last at a trattoria, where I agree to 
 
LIFE OF THOnVALDSEN. 
 
 19 
 
 pay four carlini, two for my lodgings and two for my board. Being 
 very hungry, I am delighted to find something to eat. The waiter 
 comes up to my room and asks if I wish to breakfast. I go down into 
 the diuing-hall ; a great many people there, officers and priests. It 
 is bad and dirty : in short, my dog eats more than I do, although I 
 am very hungry. If this tavern is the best in the city, God help the 
 bad. 
 
 February 2. 
 
 Dress to go to the resident minister's [Herr von Bourke, chamber- 
 lain to the King of Denmark]. They give me an old woman as a 
 guide, but she does not know the way. She asks it of a glass-man 
 who can speak German, like all the glass-men in Naples, as I believe. 
 He is no wiser than she. The old woman is obliged to ask again, and 
 before reaching the minister's I have with me three grown persons 
 and a little boy to show me the way to the house. Upon reaching 
 the minister's I have a dispute in German with a servant who tells me 
 his Excellency cannot be seen, that he is at dinner. I do not wish to 
 go away without accomplishing something, so I request him to take 
 in my name. He complies in a surly way. The minister comes out, 
 speaks to me in Erench ; I reply in Danish, which he has almost for- 
 gotten. He then excuses himself, saying he will have the pleasure 
 of a further talk with me if I will do him the honor of dining with 
 him the next day. I return to my tavern through the grand prome- 
 nade [ Villa reale^, where there is a superb marble group [the Far- 
 nese Bull]. 
 
 February 3. 
 
 Dine at the minister's ; make the acquaintance of Professor Tisch- 
 bein ; he begs me to come to see him to-morrow. He is to take me 
 everywhere. 
 
 February 4. 
 
 I go to see him this morning; do not find him at home. Meet 
 there one of his pupils, who also speaks German. See his pictures 
 and some good drawings. When Professor Tischbein comes back, 
 he requests one of his pupils to take me to all the studios. 
 
 We go first to a sculpture gallery, where there are a number ol' 
 fine marble figures ; make a drawing of one. Then to another, con- 
 taining a large number of antiques, — the great Hercules and many 
 
20 
 
 LIFE OF THORVALDSEN, 
 
 others. But it is so cold I cannot stay long. To-morrow I will take 
 my cloak. When all is in order, there will be nothing like it in the 
 world. 
 
 February 5. 
 
 To day the German glass-man comes for me. "We go together to 
 see several churches, among others one enriched with a great num- 
 ber of marble statues. We go afterward out of town, and are lucky 
 enough to see some of the figures found in the excavations at Portici. 
 Two are fine. 
 
 February 7. 
 
 To-day I see Capo di Monte : M. Andrea has the kindness to accom- 
 pany me. It is magnificent ! Ah ! how many beautiful things ! Pic- 
 tures of Raphael and other great masters ; also Etruscan vases, 
 medals, mosaics. I have to go hastily through the galleries, which 
 I am sorry for. I must go there again another time. 
 
 February 9. 
 
 Go to Professor Tischbein's, and thence to Capo di 3Ionte. See 
 the gallery more at my leisure. Dine at M. Andrea's ; after dinner 
 return to the gallery. 
 
 But let us stop ; these extracts are enough. In this con- 
 fused mass of private notes the whole character of Thor- 
 valdsen stands already revealed. His sincere admiration 
 for the antique does not betraj^ him into an}^ strong or 
 declamatory expression. He simply notes down in his mem- 
 orandum-book the Farnese Bull or the Hercules, not the 
 deep impression they make upon him. All these noble 
 statues, so profoundly engraved on his memor}-, hardly 
 draw from him the exclamation, " Ah ! how many beautiful 
 things ! " 
 
 The beginning of his sojourn in Ital}^ was not fortunate. 
 He fell ill ; and, naturally prone to melanchol}^ suffered 
 greatly from the loneliness of his situation. More than once 
 he was tempted to return to Denmark, but the thought that 
 .lereafter perhaps he might have to blush for this act of 
 
LIFE OF THOBVALDSEN. 
 
 21 
 
 weakness restrained him. At a more hopeful moment he 
 got into a vettura, and arrived in Rome at last, on the 8th 
 of March, 1797. It was almost nine months after leaving 
 Copenhagen that he set foot in the Eternal City ; and, though 
 he was entirely free to travel wherever he pleased, it is there 
 that he lived during all the time that he was a pensioner of 
 the Academy. 
 
MORNING. 
 
LIFE OF THORVALDSEN. 
 
 23 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Eflect of the Antique Statues upou Thorvaldsen. — Zoega. — Pecu- 
 niary Difficulties. — Ill-healtli. — Political Troubles. — Mr. Hope 
 and the " Jason. " — Anna Maria. — " The Abduction of Briseis." 
 
 A DEVOTED student, then 
 a3^oiith careless and dream}^, 
 such had been Thorvaldsen 
 until the moment of his ar- 
 rival in Itome. But erelong 
 a complete metamorphosis 
 was to be wrought in him, 
 and a new man was to ap- 
 pear. " I w^as born on the 
 8th of March, 1797," he used 
 to say ; " before then I did 
 not exist." Still the trans- 
 formation w'as not sudden : it 
 was onl}" after a slow period 
 of incubation, so to speak, 
 that he began to break his 
 shell. Little hj little he 
 burst the fetters of servile 
 imitation, and, once free, his 
 
 creative power never deserted 
 JASON. I^Ij^^ 
 
 We have alread}" referred to the impression made upon 
 him b}^ the works of antique art. This admiration did not. 
 
24 
 
 LIFE OF THOnVALBSEN. 
 
 as in southern natures, display itself outwardly. He re- 
 mained in a sort of ecstasy and stupor, perceiving that he 
 had much to learn and much to forget. 
 
 Bishop Munter, who predicted a brilliant future for the 
 artist, had furnished him with letters to the learned archaeol- 
 ogist Zoega, whom the Danes looked upon as their Winckel- 
 mann. He soon became attached to the young artist, and 
 the best proof he gave of his friendship was the severit}' of 
 his criticisms. He encouraged and counselled Thorvaldsen ; 
 and, without being blind to what was wanting in him, set 
 a proper value upon his talents. He writes thus from Gen- 
 zano, Oct. 4, 1797 : — 
 
 " Our countryman, Thorvaldsen, has come to pass a week with us 
 and see the curiosities of the neighborhood. He is an excellent 
 artist, with a great deal of taste and sentiment, bat ignorant of every- 
 thing outside of art. By the bye, the Academy shows very little 
 judgment in sending such ignorant young fellows to Italy, where 
 they must necessarily lose a great deal of time in acquiring that 
 knowledge, without which they are unable to profit by their stay 
 here, and which could be acquired more easily and rapidly before 
 coming. Without knowing a word of Italian or French, without the 
 slightest acquaintance with history and mythology, how is it possible 
 for an artist properly to pursue his studies here? I do not require 
 him to be learned, that I should not even desire ; but he should have 
 some faint idea of the names and meaning of the things he sees. 
 The rest he can pick up by association with the learned." 
 
 Zoega's remarks are applicable, even in our day, to mau}^ 
 young artists who go to Rome. In this case it was not so 
 much the Academy, however, as Thorvaldsen who was in 
 fault. He, as we have seen, had little inclination for any 
 study which did not bear directly on his art. 
 
 Tt has been asserted by some persons that Thorvaldsen 
 wasted the first years of his residence in Ital}^, doing nothing 
 for a long time. We must rectifj^ this exaggerated state- 
 ment. Endowed with extreme facility of execution, the 
 
LIFE OF THOBVALDSEN, 
 
 25 
 
 young artist had, up to that time, profited by this natural 
 gift ; as soon as a subject had been given him, he had set to 
 work and executed a model with surprising rapidit}^ When 
 he came to Rome, he began to distrust himself; and self- 
 distrust is the beginning of progress. Studying so many 
 masterpieces, he became more and more conscious of his 
 own shortcomings. Henceforward, whenever he purposed 
 producing an original work, he pondered long on his sub- 
 ject ; and it was only after fully working out his conception 
 in his mind, that he decided to take up the clay. But though 
 his hands were often idle, we must not conclude that his 
 mind was inactive. 
 
 " The snow that I had in my eyes begins to melt away," 
 he said. He studied the antiques so thorough!}' that he 
 knew them by heart. Those which above all others im- 
 pressed and attracted him were the simple and strong com- 
 positions belonging to that epoch which Winckelmann calls 
 the period of high art in Greece. Of these he made many 
 copies. Among others, one of half-size of the ""Pollux" 
 (one of the two colossal figures of Monte Cavallo which he 
 greatly admired), the " Jupiter of the Capitol," the " Apollo 
 of the Vatican," the "Venus di Medici," "Ariadne," " Sap- 
 pho," " Melpomene,"^ &c. To this list must be added copies 
 in marble of the antique busts of " Homer," " Cicero," and 
 "Agrippa." These last works were executed in fulfilment 
 of his pledges to the Academy. He also copied the bust of 
 Raphael in the Pantheon to please his teacher, Abildgaard,^ 
 who had begged him to do it, and put into marble the two 
 portrait-busts modelled before he left Copenhagen, besides 
 that of the Danish ambassador at Naples. 
 
 We know of but very few original compositions of this 
 period. Some have disappeared, others not obtaining the 
 
 1 These copies in 1821 were in the cabinet of Herr von Ropp, at Mietau. (Nagler.) 
 
 2 The Baroness von Stampe has at Nysiie two heads in marble, one a Medusa, the 
 other a Bacchus, which belong to this period. 
 
26 
 
 LIFE OF THOBVALDSEN. 
 
 favor of Zoega were destroyed b}" the artist : such was the 
 fate of a " Minerva," w^hose immodest draper^' was more par- 
 ticularl}^ the object of the critic's strictures. " A virtuous 
 woman of antiqiiity would have blushed to appear in such a 
 costume : how much more a goddess ! " Nor do we know 
 what has become of two groups, " Peace and Abundance," 
 and " Venus and Mars Victor" ; nor whether a statue under 
 life-size, of " H3'geia," ordered by Dr. Lehmann, still exists. 
 But we have seen at Herr Thiele's house " Achilles raising 
 the conquered Penthesilea," a sinall group of the same size 
 as " Bacchus and Ariadne," and of this same period. 
 
 This last work, which is in the Museum, shows the prog- 
 ress Thorvaldsen had made since his arrival in Rome. We 
 see in it still the pupil of the Copenhagen Academy, but 
 developed by intimate association with the antique. The 
 group is a pleasing one ; and the figures of Ariadne and Bac- 
 chus have a certain breadth of style, borrowed from great 
 models. The head of the god is almost identical with the 
 ^' Bacchus of the Capitol," wrongly called for a long time an 
 Ariadne. 1 We may consider this work, therefore, as inter- 
 mediate between the copies of the antique and the original 
 works executed later under the inspiration of Greek art. 
 
 It was during the heat of the summer of 1798 that Thor- 
 valdsen was engaged upon the " Bacchus and Ariadne," which 
 he intended for the Academy of Copenhagen. A severe at- 
 tack of fever interrupted his work ; and the unfinished model 
 (of moist clay) being in danger of destruction b}^ the heat, 
 the plaster-cast from it was hastil}^ taken. The artist felt 
 obliged to ask indulgence of the Academy for its imperlec- 
 tions, 3'et nevertheless sent it to Denmark. 
 
 Life in Rome was not altogether easy for the pensioner of 
 
 1 It is certainly a male head ; and, judging from the two little horns formed by the 
 hair, there can be no doubt that it is the head of a god. There is a reproduction of 
 this antique fragment in the Thorvaldsen collection. It is in the basement of the 
 Museum, and is numbered 113. 
 
LIFE OF THOBVALDSEN. 
 
 27 
 
 the A caclemy of Copenhagen : he had his good and his bad 
 da^'S. The bad were dne to the circumstances in which he 
 was placed : the good he won for himself, aided by ^wth 
 and hope. The Academy's pension of four hundred crowns 
 (about twelve hundred francs) scarcely sufficed to supply 
 the common necessaries of life. In return for this bount}^, 
 he was required to send a report of his progress every six 
 months, and, at the end of two 3'ears, some work as proof of 
 his apj)lication. These obligations he scrupulously fulfilled. 
 To supply the deficiency of the pension, it was necessary to 
 earn money ; and this was not easy in those times of political 
 agitation. In 1797 the Directory of France was seeking by 
 every means to overthrow the Holy See and to get possession 
 of its dominions. Bonaparte had taken Urbino, Ferrara, 
 Bologna, Ancona ; and Pius VI, in signing the treaty of 
 Tolentino, had pledged himself not only to pa}' an indemnity 
 of thirty-one millions, but to give up to France a large num- 
 ber of works of art. This was a real grief 'to Thorvaldsen : 
 nothing in all these great political commotions touched him 
 more nearl}'. General Duphot having been killed in a riot, 
 Berthier entered Rome, Feb. 10, 1798. Pius VI, deprived 
 of his temporal power, was taken to Florence, thence to 
 France ; the Republic was proclaimed, and it was not until 
 1800 that a new Pope, Pius VII, was elected. The Con- 
 cordat of 1801 restored partial tranquillitj' to the Roman 
 States, occupied successively by French and Neapolitan 
 troops. That a young foreign artist through all these turbu- 
 lent times should have been able to pursue his studies so 
 regularl}' and persistentl}^ as Thorvaldsen did, is indeed sur- 
 prising. But, though he found means to exercise and develop 
 his talent, he could not make it lucrative. Work done as 
 stud}^, and sent to Copenhagen, brought him absolutely 
 nothing. Fortunately, he fell in with an English painter 
 named Wallis, who paid him a scudo a day for putting small 
 figures into his landscapes. Thorvaldsen drew with great 
 
28 
 
 LIFE OF THORVALDSEN. 
 
 correctness ; but it is a little remarkable that a young sculp- 
 tor should be sufficiently well acquainted with oil painting to 
 be able to do such work creditabl}'. The small compensation 
 he got for it was frequently' a most valuable assistance- to 
 him in these difficult times. 
 
 But Thorvaldsen had to struggle with another enem}' be- 
 sides poverty;. He had not fully recovered from the illness 
 which he had contracted at Naples, when he was attacked 
 b}' malarial fever soon after he was settled in Rome. He 
 continued all his life subject to returns of this malady, which, 
 however, did not prevent his living without infirmities to a 
 Yeiy old age. During the first y^ears of his residence in 
 Rome, its periodical occurrence, and the lassitude which was 
 its natural result, occasioned frequent interruptions in his 
 work. 
 
 The atelier which Thorvaldsen took in the Via Bahuino 
 had been occupied before him by the famous English sculp- 
 tor Flaxman, that other passionate admirer of the antique, 
 whom his country^men did not fully appreciate until after his 
 death. Thorvaldsen, notwithstanding his early^ trials, was 
 destined to be more fortunate than his predecessor. He 
 tasted all the pleasures of fame in his lifetime ; and that he 
 did so, is perhaps owing to an Englishman, Mr. Hope, of 
 whom we shall have occasion to speak hereafter. 
 
 At Zoega's house, which was open to artists of every 
 nationality', especially Germans, Danes, and Swedes, Thor- 
 valdsen made the acquaintance of a German landscape 
 painter, Joseph Koch. The y^oung men became intimate, 
 and finally^ hired rooms together, of an old padrona cU casa 
 in the Via Felice, Dame Ursula by name, who took charge 
 of their housekeeping. 
 
 Thorvaldsen was six years the pensioner of the Academy, 
 by successive renewals. When the first term of three years 
 was drawing to a close he resolved to compose, before he 
 should have to leave Rome, an important work. It was then 
 
LIFE OF THORVALDSEN. 
 
 29 
 
 that he made the first model of a "Jason," which has not 
 been preserved. This statue, of life-size, represented the 
 hero victorious over the dragon, and holding in his hand 
 the golden fleece. It remained a long time in his atelier, 1 
 and was seen by a number of people ; but it did not excite 
 much admiration, and the discouraged sculptor finally de- 
 stroyed ■ it. 
 
 All these months of labor, however, had not been in vain. 
 The artist had pondered long upon his subject. He had 
 failed to embod}^ his conception at first, it is true ; but he 
 determined to try again. In the autumn of 1802 he modelled 
 another "Jason," and this time colossal, which would prob- 
 abl}' have met with the same fate as its predecessor, had not 
 Madame Fredericka Briin, sister of Bishop Miinter, advanced 
 the money needed to cast it in plaster, which was done 
 early in 1803. 
 
 The new statue of "Jason" made a great stir in Rome. 
 The name of the artist was scarcely known ; but everybody 
 was talking of his work, and it was unanimousl}^ acknowl- 
 edged by connoisseurs to be of real merit. Canova ex. 
 claimed, "Here is a work in a new and lofty style I"^ Even 
 the critical Zoega did not hesitate to give his approval in 
 flattering terms, a praise which was more precious to the 
 artist than any coming from other sources. 
 
 The " Jason" seemed destined, however, to be but a barren 
 success : it brought no patronage, and no one dreamt of 
 ordering a cop}^ in marble of this statue so highly praised. 
 Thorvaldsen had reached the end of his means, and the 
 Academy's bount}^ had already been continued to the far- 
 thest possible limit. To remain longer in Rome was im- 
 possible. After having deferred his departure from week 
 to week and from da}^ to da}^, he was forced at last to make 
 up his mind that he must leave Italy, while his heart still 
 
 1 He worked upon it until April, 1801. (Thiele.) 
 
 2 Quest' opera di quel giovane Danesc e fatto in uno stile nuovo c grandioao." 
 
30 
 
 LIFE OF THORVALDSEN. 
 
 yearned for the fame seeming so near, yet ever eluding 
 his grasp. The poor artist had packed his trunks ; they 
 were piled upon the vettura, which stood waiting at the 
 door. Plaster casts, furniture, everything had been sold, 
 when, at the last moment, his fellow-traveller, the sculptor 
 Hagemann, came to announce that, in consequence of some 
 trouble about their passports, the}^ would be obliged to wait 
 till the next day. 
 
 This trifling incident changed the fortunes of Thorvaldsen. 
 A few hours afterward, the rich English banker, Thomas 
 Hope, coming into his atelier was struck b}- the majestic 
 proportions of the "Jason" and asked the artist how much it 
 would cost to put it into marble. " Six hundred sequins," 
 replied the agitated sculptor, catching eagerly at a ray of 
 hope. " That is not enough : you must have eight hundred,'* 
 said the generous amateur.^ 
 
 Life now assumed for Thorvaldsen a new aspect. He re- 
 mained in Rome no longer a pensioner of the Academy, but 
 an independent artist, living b}^ his labor. From that day 
 Fortune, who crossed his threshold with the English banker, 
 never abandoned him. But it is onl}^ just to say that his 
 prosperit}^ was as much due to his own constant efforts and 
 assiduous labor, as to the smiles of the goddess. 
 
 Mr. Hope's visit may be termed the salvation of the artist. 
 His commission gave Thorvaldsen, for some time at least, 
 the means of support. He was thus able to pursue his 
 studies in Ital}^, retained there by his interest in the remains 
 of ancient art. We might therefore naturally exj^ect that 
 the artist would now devote himself with jo3'ful alacrity 
 
 1 This, nevertheless, is the agreement written in Frencliand signed by Tliorvald- 
 sen: "I, the undersigned do promise to execute for Mr. Thomas Hope, of London, 
 for six hundred Roman sequins, payable in four instalments, a statue, eleven hands 
 high in Carrara marble of the finest quality, after a model now in ray atelier, near 
 the I'iazza Barberini, representing Jason standing, and holding in one hand his lance, 
 in the other the golden fleece.'' ('J'hiele.) Mr. Hope, it is true, reserved the right 
 of making tlie last payment larger, in case the statue equalled his expectations. 
 
LIFE OF THOBVALBSEN. 
 
 31 
 
 to the task of cutting in marble the statue which had akeady 
 begun to make him. famous. Vain expectation ! He fell, on 
 the contrar}^, into a hmguishing and listless coi^lition which 
 incapacitated him for an}^ kind of work. He scarcely took 
 up the chisel before he laid it down again. His mind and his 
 heart were elsewhere. The artist was absorbed in the lover. 
 
 Thorvaldsen now formed a connection which had so long 
 and so unfortunate an influence upon his life that we feel 
 obliged to enter into some particulars concerning it. Zoega, 
 the sincere friend, the severe critic, was also a charming host. 
 He had at Genzano, near Rome, a pleasant villa, whither 
 Thorvaldsen was frequentl}' invited, and where after one of 
 his attacks of fever he went to re-establish his health. Treated 
 by the master and mistress as their, own son, the house 
 seemed a charming abode to the 3'oung man. The time 
 passed gayly in games, rustic dances, and the society of 
 lovely women. One of the latter made a deep impression 
 upon the artist. She was a Roman girl with dark hair and 
 flashing eyes, who carried her head proudl}', and whose vig- 
 orous and well-developed form was statuesque in its propor- 
 tions. Giorgione would have painted her with the warmest 
 colors of his palette. Her name was Anna Maria Magnani. 
 Her station in life was a humble one ; for she seems to have 
 been only a sort of lady's maid to the Signora Zoega. 
 
 In the dances on the lawn where the usual laisser-aller of 
 fetes cliampctres prevailed, and whilst all the compau}' yielded 
 to the exhilarating influence of the violin, the hand of the 
 3'oung Dane often came in contact with that of the Roman 
 girl. His light hair, his clear complexion, his blue e3'es, 
 formed an admirable contrast to her dark beaut3\ Thor- 
 valdsen's was not an inelegant figure. His features were 
 refined, his expression intelligent, and he had that transpar- 
 ent and delicate beaut}^ common to the native of the North, 
 and which is all the more appreciated in Italy because it is 
 there so rarely- seen. 
 
32 
 
 LIFE OF THORVALDSEN. 
 
 It was not difficult to foresee the result. The first to fall 
 in love, the 3'oung girl made but little resistance. Unfortu- 
 natel}^, this liaison^ which should have been a mere episode 
 of his youth, became a heavy chain for the artist. Under 
 the first impulse of passion, he had failed to perceive the 
 immense distance which separated him from this woman in 
 all that concerned his tastes, and especially his character. 
 It was not long, however, before she showed herself in her 
 true colors. Impatient to improve her condition, the humble 
 beaut}^ made a new conquest, and secured a position far 
 superior to that which her first lover could offer her, by mar- 
 rying a man of higher birth and the possessor of a fortune. 
 Madame d'Uhden, the bride, did not, however, forget the 
 loves of plain Anna Maria, whose relations with her Bertel 
 were scarcely interrupted. The young Dane, who had a 
 more sensitive nature, suffered cruelly from this state of 
 things, though the ardor of his passion would not allow him 
 to put an end to it. He was indeed so blinded by love that 
 when the bridegroom carried off his wife to Florence he fell 
 seriously ill. 
 
 Nor had Anna Maria the slightest affection for her hus- 
 band. Anxious above all,, and at whatever price, to rise 
 from the humble station in which her birth had placed her, 
 she had married M. d'Uhden. But, as she was unwilling to 
 break the tie which bound her to the artist, she was aware 
 that she might sooner or later be abandoned by the man who 
 was her lawful protector. Like a prudent woman, she pre- 
 vailed upon her lover — whose position, thanks to Mr. Hope, 
 had somewhat improved, and whose prospects' appeared 
 brighter — to enter into a formal engagement in writing to 
 provide for her support in case of a rupture with her hus- 
 band. Relying upon this promise, she no longer feared the 
 storm, and was perhaps not sorry to have it burst quickl3^ 
 The crisis occurred at Florence, and was at once announced 
 to the artist b}' a letter dated from that city, June 12, 1803. 
 
LIFE OF THOBVALDSEN. 
 
 33 
 
 It was a summons in the proper form, commanding him on 
 the part of the Signora Anna Maria d'Uhden to appear forth- 
 with and perform the engagements entered into b}^ him with 
 the lady aforesaid. i Strange to say, this singular missive is 
 signed Fra Luigi Formenti^ at the convent of Santa' Maria 
 delta Stella. 
 
 Thorvaldsen had no means of escape : he acquitted him- 
 self of his obligations by receiving the lady into his house. 
 These exciting events were not of a nature to put an end to 
 his invalid condition, still farther aggravated by the exces- 
 sive heat of the summer of 1803. He jdelded to the en- 
 treaties of his friends, and betook himself to Albano to 
 re-establish his health, now very much shattered. 
 
 Upon liis return he made the acquaintance of the Baron 
 von Schubart, Danish ambassador at the court of Naples. 
 The baron and his wife had come to Rome with the intention 
 of passing some time among the artists with whom the city 
 was thronged. Having a sincere love for art, thc}^ showed 
 much kindness to the sculptor, treating him as a friend and 
 taking pleasure in introducing him to the best society, to 
 which their rank gave them access. Through them the artist 
 was introduced to Baron William von Humboldt, then at 
 Rome with his family. At the baron's house were always to 
 be met people of the highest distinction whether for rank or 
 merit, and Thorvaldsen profited by the opportunity thus 
 afforded him to form many acquaintances who proved useful 
 to him in his profession. From one of these, the Countess 
 Woronzoff, he received an order for four marble statues : - a 
 " Bacchus," a " Ganymede," an " Apollo," and a " Venus " ; 
 as well as a group of " Cupid and Psyche." He was also 
 commissioned by Count von Moltke to make two statues, 
 companion pieces, a "Bacchus" and an "Ariadne." 
 
 In April, 1804, Thorvaldsen went to Naples in company 
 
 1 Thiele. 
 
 2 The price of each was four hundred Roman crowns. 
 
34 
 
 LIFE OF THOEVALDSE]\. 
 
 with the count, and, in spite of the obstacles raised by the 
 jealousy of Anna Maria, afterward proceeded to the villa of 
 Baron von Schubart, at Montenero, where he passed part of 
 the summer. His stay here was very delightful : his hosts 
 overwhelmed him with kindness, and the pure countr}^ air 
 and sea-bathing improved his health. As he was ver}^ soon 
 anxious to be at work again, the baron hastened to install 
 him in a small atelier, where he modelled the charming group 
 of " Cupid and Psyche," one of his finest creations. Wish- 
 ing, before leaving Montenero, to testify his appreciation of 
 the kindness of his hosts, he modelled, in less than nine days, 
 a bas-relief, the " Dance of the Muses on Parnassus," a pleas- 
 ing work, well designed and executed, which he presented to 
 the baroness on her birthday. From Montenero Thorvaldsen 
 made a trip to Genoa, whence he returned soon after to 
 Rome. 
 
 The success of his last works having now attracted pub- 
 lic attention, honors began to flow in upon him. Oct. 13, 
 1804, he received from Florence the diploma of professor 
 of the Poyal Academy of that city. The Academy of Copen- 
 hagen had expected the artist to return home when his 
 pension had expired, but took care not to recall him upon 
 learning that their pupil was doing so much honor to his 
 country in the metropolis of the arts. The}^ sent him a gift 
 of four hundred crowns to express their gratification at his 
 success.! 
 
 Hardl}^ had Thorvaldsen returned to Rome, w^hen he heard 
 that the atelier at Montenero had been struck by lightning, 
 immediately after his departure, and that all his models, with 
 the exception of " Cupid and Ps3^che," were destro3'ed. The 
 amateurs declared that it was a miracle. Poets sang of it ; 
 sonnets were handed about from salon to salon ; and all this 
 
 1 Some months later (1 May, 1805) he hecame himself a member of the Academy 
 of his native city, and was appointed professor in the place of Weidenhaupt. He 
 was also chosen honorary member of the National Academy of Bologna. 
 
LIFE OF THOBVALDSEN. 
 
 35 
 
 excitement, which the artist did nothing to promote, con- 
 tributed to the growth of his fame. 
 
 In the spring of 1805 Thorvaldsen produced his first really- 
 important bas-relief, "The Abduction of Briseis," which still 
 remains one of the most celebrated of the master's works. 
 In the judgment of connoisseurs, the "Jason" had placed 
 the Danish sculptor side by side with Canova, whose glory 
 w^as then at its zenith. "The Abduction of Briseis" in- 
 creased his growing reputation, and some persons maintained 
 that he had alreiidy outstripped his illustrious rival in this 
 branch of their art, the bas-relief, in which Thorvaldsen sub- 
 sequently became unquestionably the superior. 
 
 Zoega, who did not fail to come once a month, according 
 to agreement, to the atelier of his protege^ saw this bas- 
 relief, and was so well satisfied with it that he wrote to his 
 friend Bishop Munter, 27th April, 1805, " Thorvaldsen is 
 now very popular, and orders flow in from all sides. There 
 is no longer any doubt that he and Canova are the two most 
 eminent sculptors in Rome. I am delighted to find that my 
 predictions, which no one would believe when I made them, 
 have been verified." 
 
 Thorvaldsen now received so many orders that the " Jason " 
 was neglected. The "Bacchus," "Apollo," and "Gany- 
 mede" of the Countess Woronzofi" were finished in 1805, 
 whilst the " Jason " still remained in the same state. It is 
 difficult to avoid feeling some regret at the conduct of 
 Thorvaldsen in this matter. Mr. Hope's visit was produc- 
 tive of such important results that he should have consid- 
 ered it a positive duty to satisfy an amateur who had treated 
 him so nobly. But artists occasionally have caprices, which 
 we must not judge too severely. The journej^s he made on 
 account of his health frequently kept him away from Rome 
 during a part of the year ; and on his return his pecuniary- 
 embarrassments obliged him to devote himself to new works. 
 The decree of Napoleon, 17th December, 1807, ordering the 
 
36 
 
 LIFE OF THORVALDSEN. 
 
 seizure of all English property' on the continent, also fur- 
 nished him with more or less plausible pretexts for delay. 
 The truth is, that the work, as he had at first conceived it, no 
 longer pleased the artist. ^ He offered to make another 
 statue, which should be superior to the first : but here the 
 obstinacy of the English character showed itself, and Mr. 
 Hope could not be induced to listen to any such proposition. 
 A long correspondence followed, and the amateur finally 
 lost patience.^ The matter, however, was finally settled, 
 
 1 When Thorvaldsen at last decided to finish the statue, he said one day to Herr 
 Thiele, who was with huu in his atelier while he was working, " When I did it I 
 thought it good, and so it is, but now I know how to do better." 
 
 2 Sixteen years after the " Jason " was ordered, Mr. Hope wrote to Thorvaldsen 
 from London. April 6, 1819: " It will be needless, I think, for me to have the honor of 
 reminding you that at the beginning of 1803, in virtue of an agreement signed by you, 
 and which I have now before me, you undertook to execute for me a statue of ' Jason,' 
 after a model that I had the pleasure of seeing in your atelier. Over and above the 
 sum which I engaged to remit in three separate payments, — the first when you had 
 procured the necessary marble, the second when the statue should be rough-hewed, 
 and the third when it should be finished, — I reserved to myself the privilege of adding 
 to these a further sum, agreed upon between us, if the care taken in the execution of the 
 work corresponded to my expectations and your reputation. The first two payments 
 were scrupulously made, at your demand. I have before me the receipts. Rut since that 
 time, up to the year 1816, that is to say, nearly fourteen years after the agreement made 
 by you with me personally at Rome. I heard nothing from either you or my statue. 
 You then alleged several reasons for having left it unfinished. Although these reasons 
 had little weight in my eyes, since, subsequently to the obligation entered into with 
 me, you had begun and finished an infinite number of other works; nevertheless, 
 partly on account of the regret you expressed for treating me so ill, and your assur- 
 ance that the statue should be completed without delay, and partly out of dehcacy 
 and consideration for you, I determined to forget the past and content myself with 
 trusting to your promises for the future. Nevertheless , sir, I have just learned that 
 not only my statue of 'Jason' has not been touched since that time, but that in the 
 interval still other works have been undertaken and finished. Seeing, therefore, tliat 
 the absent continue to be wronged, and those who are on the spot can alone hope t) 
 obtain justice, I have decided to put this business into the hands of my good friends, 
 Messrs. Torlouia & Co. At my request, these gentlemen have kindly undertaken 
 this commission ; and I beg of you to consider henceforward the orders of their 
 banking-house as coming from me." 
 
 M. Torlonia and his step-son, M. Chiaveri, acquitted themselves of their commis- 
 sion with all the courtesy of men of the world. Thorvaldsen's journey to Denmark 
 delayed still longer the execution of the statue ; and when at last it was finished the 
 artist begged Mr. Hope to accept, as a compensation and an expression of his regret, 
 two marble bas-reliefs, and three busts, also in mai-ble, of Mrs. Hope and her two 
 daughters. (Thiele.) 
 
LIFE OF THOBVALBSEN. 
 
 37 
 
 though it was not until 1828 that the " Jason" was ready to 
 be sent to London. 
 
 Since the success of the " Abduction of Briseis," the dis- 
 tinguished people who had opened their salons to the Dan- 
 ish sculptor almost made it a matter of rivalry to obtain 
 the promise of some work from his hand. The wealth}^ 
 Marquis Torlonia ordered a group of "Mars and Venus," 
 which he wished to place in the Palazzo Bracciano, as com- 
 panion to Canova's famous group, " Hercules and Lycas." 
 The United States Consul at Leghorn, Mr. Appleton, gave 
 him a commission for a colossal statue of " Liberty," to be 
 placed in a public square in Washington. ^ The municipality 
 of Florence wishing to erect in the church of Santa Croce a 
 monument to Dante, Thorvaldsen made some sketches for 
 it ; but all these works were only talked about, and were 
 never executed. Such was the case also with a monument 
 ordered the following 3^ear, through Baron von Schubart, to 
 commemorate the naval victory of the Americans over the 
 Tripoline fleet. 
 
 Thorvaldsen's health had been much benefited by his last 
 summer's vacation at Montenero. The baron, remembering 
 this, wrote to the artist, July 26, 1805 : — 
 
 "Tell me, for the love of God, what are you doing in Rome dur- 
 ing this terrible heat in which you cannot possibly work? Why have 
 you not come to our charming Montenero, which is looking even 
 more lovely than it did last summer, when you gave us the pleasure 
 of your company? Cannot you break away, and come here to pass 
 five or six weeks of the hottest weather? My wife says that you owe 
 it to your health. Say at Rome that you are ill, and are going to 
 pass a fortnight at Montenero to finish some small works you have 
 on hand here." 
 
 We see by this letter with what kindly feelings the baron 
 and baroness regarded their friend. Herr von Schubart was 
 
 1 Five thousand Roman crowns were proposed to the artist as the price for tlus 
 statue. 
 
38 
 
 LIFE OF THORVALDSEX. 
 
 not ignorant of the storm raised the preceding year by Anna 
 Maria's jealousy, and now scarcely hoped to succeed. The 
 sculptor, whose amiable disposition was ill suited to these 
 terrible quarrels, preferred to submit quietty to the yoke than 
 pay so dearly for throwing it off; and Mme. d'Uhden would 
 undoubtedly have gained the day, had it not been for a 
 happy accident. It chanced that Count von Rantzau, a 
 nobleman of Holstein, arrived in Rome just at this time ; 
 he went daily to see Thorvaldsen in his atelier ; they took 
 a fancy to each other at once, and a friendship sprung up 
 between them which lasted until death. The count 
 had a letter of introduction to the baron, which he told 
 Thorvaldsen he would like to profit b}', but added that he 
 would not go to Montenero unless he went with him. On 
 the spur of the moment, the artist promised to accompany 
 him. A terrible scene ensued with Mme. d'Uhden. But, 
 his word once given, Thorvaldsen was ashamed to draw 
 back. He was firm, and neither tears nor threats had the 
 power to retain him. Out of all patience with Anna Maria's 
 unjust recriminations, he departed without being reconciled ; 
 not even bidding her good-b}', and leaving the care of his 
 ateliers to an old school-fellow, his friend the architect, 
 Charles Stanley. 
 
 Anna Maria sent word through this friend, that " the ill- 
 ness, vexation, and want of sleep caused by Thorvaldsen's 
 conduct would no doubt bring her to the grave." The 
 sculptor was little moved by this sad picture, and, that she 
 might be aware of his feelings, he wrote Stanley a letter, 
 intended to be seen by the poor woman, in which he made 
 no mention of her, but asked with a great deal of solicitude 
 about the health of his little dog Perrucca. 
 
 " What an insult ! " exclaimed the abandoned Ariadne. 
 "To show all his tenderness for that ugly brute, only to 
 better manifest his contempt for his darling, in thus forget- 
 ting her entirely ! " She gave vent to her anger in a letter 
 
LIFE OF THOBVALDSEN. 
 
 39 
 
 full of bitter reproaches. This state of affairs continued for 
 quite a long time ; until at last, towards the end of August, 
 Stanley wrote to his friend that Anna Maria was growling 
 desperate at his silence. Thorvaldsen then sent her a few 
 words which put an end to this great grief : she wrote in her 
 turn a long letter of piteous lamentations, " ending with a 
 very urgent request that he would bring her home from Leg- 
 horn a good pair of small English scissors." Thus ended 
 this dramatic incident. 
 
NIGHT. 
 
LIFE OF THOBVALDSEN. 
 
 41 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Baron von Humboldt.— Ranch. — The " Adonis." — The Two " Hebes.'*^ 
 
 — The "Triumph of Alexander." — Grand Duchess of Tuscany. — 
 Baroness von Schubart. — " Night and Morning." — The " Venus." 
 ^gina Marbles. — Byron. — The ' ' Hope." — Princess Baryatinska. 
 
 — The "Mercury." — " The Three Graces." 
 
 CUPID AND PSYCHE. 
 
 valdsen made his first 
 
 life-size, and represents the goddess entirely 
 
 " The Abduction of Briseis" 
 and the group of " Cupid and 
 Ps3'che" mark the moment 
 when Thorvaldsen attained 
 to tlie full development of 
 his talent. Henceforward he 
 pursued his art with ardor, 
 confidence, and enthusiasm, 
 sending forth from his ateliers 
 that great multitude of works, 
 chaste and severe in stj-le, 
 which have given him a place 
 among the first sculptors of 
 the century. 
 
 In 1805, the three statues 
 — half-size — ordered by the 
 Countess Woronzoff, and al- 
 most wholly sketched at Mon- 
 tenero, were put into marble 
 with the greatest care. 
 
 About the same time Thor- 
 model of a "Venus." It is under 
 nude. Her 
 
42 
 
 LIFE OF THORVALDSEN. 
 
 garments are lying on the trunk of a tree : she holds in her 
 right hand the apple, the prize of beauty. Of the two 
 copies in marble of this statue which still exist, one belongs 
 to the Countess Woronzoff, the other to Mme. von Ropp. 
 But although several amateurs were anxious to have copies 
 of it, the artist, dissatisfied with the size he had adopted, 
 broke up the model. He afterward executed the same 
 Venus the size of life. In 1806, through the agency of the 
 Countess von Schimmelmann, sister of Baron von Schubart, 
 Thorvaldsen received a commission for two baptismal fonts 
 for the church of Brahe-Trolleborg, in the Island of Fionia. 
 These, so far as we have been able to ascertain, are the first 
 religious works undertaken by him. He continued, none the 
 less, however, to give his attention to subjects taken from 
 the Greek mythology, which he preferred to all others ; and 
 while engaged upon the fonts, modelled a " Hebe," half-size, 
 ordered by a Danish baron. In the right hand she holds a 
 brimming cup, and her tunic unfastened at the shoulder 
 leaves bare the right breast. 
 
 The zeal with which Thorvaldsen devoted himself to his 
 art did not cause him to neglect his social relations. His 
 atelier, always open, was constantly filled with visitors. In 
 manner he was kind and sympathetic ; and, as he conversed 
 with ease, and told stories in an interesting way, he made 
 the time pass pleasantly to his sitters. Not only did he 
 receive callers with affabilit}", but he went willingly into 
 societ3\ He was particularly fond of visiting at the house 
 of Baron William von Humboldt, who was then Prussian 
 ambassador to the court of Rome. Previous to the spring of 
 1807, the baron had lived in the villa di Malta, but was now 
 established in a grand palace in the Strada Gregoriana, 
 near Trinitd di Monti. Here he entertained strangers and 
 distinguished foreigners from all parts ; everj^bodj^ in Rome, 
 in fact, who had any claims to distinction. Thorvaldsen met 
 here his friend Zoega, and the painter Camuccini ; but the 
 
LIFE OF THOBVALBSEJSr, 
 
 43 
 
 person who charmed him above all others was a 3'oung girl, 
 Mademoiselle Ida Brun, afterward Countess de Bombelles, 
 whose mother, Madame Fredericka Brun, had been a generous 
 friend to him' in the outset of his career. 
 
 Thorvaldsen had undertaken to give drawing lessons to 
 Mademoiselle Ida, but much preferred hearing her sing, 
 while he accompanied her on the guitar, upon which he 
 played with much taste. A true artist, he was deeply im- 
 pressed by the beauty of this 3^oung girl, who was also 
 remarkable for her talents and cultivation. He worshipped 
 her with a respectful admiration, and did all in his power 
 to please her.^ 
 
 Ranch, who came to Rome about this time, was also re- 
 ceived at the Baron von Humboldt's. Thorvaldsen wel- 
 comed kindly the young artist, then wholly unknown, and 
 with his usual friendliness procured him several commissions, 
 which gave the Berlin sculptor an opportunity to show his 
 ability. Ranch, some time afterward, received commissions 
 to execute the mausoleum of Queen Louisa of Prussia, in- 
 tended for Charlottenbourg, and a great number of impor- 
 tant works for the cit}^ of Berlin, among which we ought -to 
 
 1 Thorvaldsen, some years later (1810), modelled the portrait bust of Mademoiselle 
 Brun. In " L'Allemagne Madame de Sta;il thus speaks of this young lady : — 
 
 '* I have already said that as a general thing sculpture loses much by the neglect of 
 the dance. The only phenomenon of that art in Germany is Ida Brun, a young girl 
 whose social position shuts her out from a professional career. She has received 
 from nature and her mother a wondei'ful talent for representing by simple attitudes 
 charming pictures and beautiful statues. Her dancing is a succession of floating 
 chefs cfceiivre, every one of which we long to fix forever. It is true that the 
 mother of Ida has expressed in her writings all that her daughter embodies in the 
 dance. The poems of Mme. Brun reveal in ai*t and nature a thousand new beauties 
 not perceived by careless eyes. I saw the young Ida, while still a child, represent 
 Althea about to burn the brand on which the life of her son Meleager depends. She 
 portrayed without words the grief, the inward struggle, the terrible resolve of a 
 mother. Through her intense facial expression undoubtedly, she made us under- 
 stand the conflict within ; but the art of varying her gestures, and the artistic way 
 she folded her purple mantle about her, produced at least as much effect as her 
 countenance itself. She often remained in one position for some time, and then a 
 painter could imagine nothing finer than the picture she improvised. Such a talent 
 is unique." 
 
44 
 
 LIFE OF THORVALDSEN. 
 
 mention particularly the monument erected to the memory 
 of Frederick the Great. 
 
 The young Prince Louis of Bavaria, who afterward became 
 king, and who was always an enthusiastic patron of the arts, 
 began at that time that regular correspondence with Thor- 
 valdsen which he ever afterward kept up. He was now 
 collecting antique marbles for his new museum at Munich, 
 the Glj^ptothek, and had in Eome very zealous agents con- 
 stantly on the watch for artistic discoveries, but often puzzled 
 to know whether the objects presented to them as antiques 
 were true or false. Thorvaldsen, whose judgment had been 
 formed by a long and passionate study of the works of high 
 art, was never deceived. The agents of the prince had occa- 
 sion a number of times to congratulate themselves upon 
 having consulted him. He once prevented them from pur- 
 chasing a large vase of suspicious origin, which the dealers 
 tried to pass off for a masterpiece of antique Greek art.^ 
 Shortly afterward the dishonesty of these dealers was pub- 
 licly exposed, and the prince hastened to thank the sculptor 
 to whom he had already given important commissions. This 
 interference, however, on the part of Thorvaldsen, gained 
 him the ill-will of the men whose dishonorable traflSc he had 
 injured. 
 
 At this epoch a serious conflict was on the point of break- 
 ing out between Napoleon I and Pius VH. The first result 
 of the contention between the Emperor and the Pope was 
 the occupation of the Roman States, and afterward of Rome 
 itself, by the French army. General Miollis entered the 
 city without firing a shot, Feb. 2d, 1808, and took posses- 
 sion of the Castle of Saint Angelo, and all other important 
 posts. From this time the Pope — until he was removed 
 from Rome by his opposition to the inflexible will of the 
 Emperor — was sovereign only in name. 
 
 Thiele. 
 
LIFE OF THORVALDSEN. 
 
 45 
 
 The life of artists in Rome was naturally not a little dis- 
 turbed by these commotions. Nevertheless, Thorvaldsen 
 pursued his work with a perseverance which testifies to his 
 love of his profession. It was at this time that he executed 
 a statue of Mars Pacificator," eight feet in height, which 
 the Prince of Bavaria ordered in marble. 
 
 He afterward chose in its stead an "Adonis" which he 
 saw in the sculptor's atelier. 
 
 The "Adonis," upon which the artist worked long and 
 steadity, was modelled in 1808, but not completely finished 
 until 1832. It is a masterpiece of grace and antique sim- 
 plicity ; and is moreover the onlj^ one of the artist's works 
 wrought out entirel}^ by his own hands, a stipulation insisted 
 upon by the prince, who knew that the m^ister was accus- 
 tomed to leave to his workmen the task of rough-hewing 
 and even finishing his statues, usually reserving to himself 
 only the last few touches. The "Adonis" is now in the 
 Glyptothek of Munich, in the centre of the hall devoted to 
 modern works. 
 
 Canova professed a great admiration for this statue. 
 Meeting Mme. Fredericka Brun one day at the Villa Doria, 
 he asked her if she had seen the " Adonis." " Not yet," she 
 replied. " You must see it," he rejoined ; " for it is an admi- 
 rable statue, noble and simple, in the true antique st3^1e, and 
 full of feeling;" and with warmth, "Your friend, madame, 
 is a divine man." Then, after a few moments' silence, — 
 " But it is a pitj^ I am no longer young." 
 
 Notwithstanding these kind words, we might infer, from 
 some remarks of Thorvaldsen, that Canova did not always 
 act with frankness towards his 3'oung rival. "Whenever 
 Canova had completed a new work," said Thorvaldsen, some- 
 time afterward to an intimate friend, " he usually invited me 
 to come and see it. He wanted my opinion. If I made any 
 criticism, as, for instance, that perhaps it would be better 
 to make a certain fold of drapery fall in such or such a way, 
 
46 
 
 LIFE OF TIIOBVALDSEN. 
 
 lie would always acknowledge the justice of my remark, 
 embrace and thank me warml}^, but never change any- 
 thing. Out of politeness I used to invite him to visit me 
 in my atelier. He would come ; but always restricted him- 
 self to telling me that all my works were excellent, — 
 excelloitissimo ; and that there was absolutely nothing to 
 criticise." ^ 
 
 The w^ork of restoring the palace of Christiansborg at 
 Copenhagen, which had been devastated by the great fire, 
 was now going on ; and Thorvaldsen was charged with the 
 execution of four circular bas-reliefs, representing "Prome- 
 theus and Minerva," " Hercules and Hebe," " Esculapius and 
 Hygeia," " Jupiter and Nemesis." 
 
 During this same year, 1808, on the 6th of March, Thor- 
 valdsen was made an honorary member of the Academy of 
 Saint Luke, at Rome, and executed as his diploma work a 
 famous bas-relief, often reproduced, and known under the 
 title, " A genio lumen." Art is represented b}^ the figure of 
 a woman, prepared to draw on her tablets, and waiting for 
 the Genius of Inspiration to pour oil into the lamp. A 
 membership in the Academy of Saint Luke gave Thorvaldsen 
 the right to take part in the instruction of the pupils of that 
 school ; but his influence was impaired by cabals, which have 
 sometimes been said — and very erroneousl}", we think — to 
 have been fomented by Canova. These cabals were set on 
 foot by artists of no merit, who were jealous that " a bar- 
 barian from the remote North " should rob them of fame and 
 occupation. Thorvaldsen's pupils were long subject to ill- 
 treatment : attempts were made to humiliate them, and they 
 had to complain of some acts of injustice. 
 
 In addition to these annoyances instigated by the envious, 
 Thorvaldsen was to endure other and more bitter trials. 
 Just before the forced departure of the Pope, he lost by 
 
 1 Thiele. 
 
LIFE OF THOBVALDSEN. 
 
 47 
 
 death his old school-fellow the architect Stanley, and soon 
 afterward his first patron in Rome, his friend Zoega. This 
 wise counsellor of the artist died Feb. 10, 1809. Through 
 his illness Thorvaldsen had been devoted to him, and after 
 his death he took a mask of his face and modelled his bust. 
 He also made the drawing for the portrait in Welcker's 
 biography of Zoega. And he did not stop here ; but trans- 
 ferring to the family of his friend part of the affection he had 
 borne to him, he interested himself in the settlement of the 
 estate, a matter which occasioned him much trouble and per- 
 plexity. 
 
 But in spite of political agitations and private trials, the 
 year 1809 proved not unfruitful. The earlier and finer of 
 the two bas-reliefs of "Hector confronting Paris and Helen" 
 was composed at this time ; also four other bas-reliefs : 
 " Love conquering the Lion," " The Birth of Venus," " Love 
 stung by a Bee," and "Mercury giving to Ino the infant 
 Bacchus." 
 
 In 1810, the King of Denmark conferred upon Thorvald- 
 sen the title of Knight of Danebrog ; and hereafter, as is the 
 custom in Italy, he was called " Cavaliere' Alberto.'' It was 
 a convenient way of avoiding the pronunciation of his Dan- 
 ish name, always very difficult for the Italians. 
 
 The years 1810 and 1811 are marked by two charming 
 compositions, " Cupid reviving the Fainting Psyche," and 
 " Bacchus presenting the Cup to Love ; " also two other bas- 
 reliefs, "Summer" and "Autumn." The colossal statue of 
 Mars, modelled after a sketch made some years previous, 
 and now grouped with a statue of Love ; the bust of the 
 chaiming Mademoiselle Ida Brun, his own portrait as a 
 colossal Hermes, and the lovely statue of Psyche belong to 
 the year 1811. 
 
 The fame acquired by Thorvaldsen constantly increasing, 
 the Danish people, justly proud of him, began to manifest an 
 ardent desire that he should return to his native land. He 
 
48 
 
 LIFE OF THOBVALDSEN. 
 
 had left his home 3'oung and almost unknown : he was 
 now famous, and his country was eager to reclaim him. 
 A quarr}- of marble having- been discovered in Norway, 
 the hereditary prince of Denmark, Christian Frederick, an 
 enthusiastic patron of the arts, who had done his utmost 
 to promote their prosperity in his native country, made 
 this a pretext to write the following letter to Thorvald- 
 sen : — 
 
 Herr Professor and Chevalier, — 
 
 It will perhaps be agreeable to you to receive these few lines from 
 a fellow-countryman who esteems you highly, and knows how to 
 appreciate your merit. I talse advantage, tlierefore, of this good 
 opportunity to present to you my most sincere compliments. 
 
 My love for the fine arts, and my earnest efforts to propagate 
 them in my country, naturally inspire me with a desire to see 
 and know the greatest sculptor of his day. There is work for 
 you here. The activity of your rich and fruitful mind will have 
 full scope. You can, and doubtless will, be of service to the Acad- 
 emy, whose members watched with delight your early progress in 
 the career of art, and who lost no time in admitting into their num- 
 ber a man capable of exercising so happy an influence upon young 
 artists. 
 
 Italy is scarcely what it was : your own country is still unchanged. 
 Perhaps you may also find that the arts have made some progress 
 here. What an impulse would your presence give to them ! 
 
 But I do not wish to employ persuasion. I rely upon your own 
 feelings for the accomplishment of my dearest wishes as a Dane, and 
 as President of the Academy of Fine Arts. 
 
 The Baron von Schubart, his Majesty's chamberlain, who has 
 kindly ofiered to take charge of this letter, will hand you a specimen 
 of the white marble just discovered in Norway. We expect soon a 
 large block, and more afterward, which will be at your service ; and 
 I do not doubt that, while you stay with us, you will be able to exe- 
 cute works in marble. Regard this as another reason for hastening 
 your return ; and rest assured that I have no wish to confine your 
 activity to limits too narrow for you. You will be always free to re- 
 turn in search of inspiration to those happy regions which are now 
 
LIFE OF THOBVALDSEN. 
 
 49 
 
 favored by your presence. A small portion of your life for the ser- 
 vice of your country is all I ask. 
 I am, Herr Professor, with esteem, your affectionate 
 
 Christian Frederick, 
 Prince of Denmark and Norway. 
 
 Copenhagen, Dec. 20, 1811. 
 
 The prince's letter was not the only one received by the 
 artist : all his friends united in soliciting him to return. 
 Thorvaldsen would have consented gladly : he even made 
 some preliminary preparations for the journey, when he was 
 unavoidably detained in Rome by a commission of the utmost 
 importance. 
 
 The French Academy in Rome had just received an order 
 to ornament with great magnificence the Quii:inal Palace. 
 An approaching visit of the French Emperor was announced. 
 Time pressed, and the works were begun at once. The 
 architect Stern, who directed them, proposed to Thorvaldsen 
 that he should compose the bas-reliefs that were to form a 
 frieze for one of the most spacious halls, and left to him the 
 choice of subjects. The sculptor decided to represent the 
 "Entry of Alexander the Great into Babylon." It is one 
 of the largest and most important of his works. There was 
 no time to lose, as this enormous piece of sculpture had to be 
 finished in the space of three months ; and he accordingl}^ 
 set about it with great enthusiasm. Being especially desir- 
 ous to give the composition breadth of style, he was forced 
 to sacrifice the details to the general eff'ect. The frieze, 
 however, was intended for so high a position that finish of 
 execution was of secondary importance. As soon as one 
 piece had left his hands he took hastily from the clay a 
 mould,! from which one copy only could be cast. Those who 
 saw this work from a near point of view did not form a very 
 
 1 Thiele. 
 
50 
 
 LIFE OF THOBVALDSEN. 
 
 high opinion of it. Notwithstanding all the zeal of the 
 artist, the frieze was not finished until June, 1812. But 
 when all the pieces were put together and placed at the 
 proper height, the work surpassed even the expectations of 
 Thorvaldsen's friends. The imperfections of execution dis- 
 appeared, and only the harmony of the composition was 
 seen, recalling in a happy manner the admirable friezes of 
 antiquity. 
 
 Before the several portions of " The Triumph of Alex- 
 ander" left his atelier, Thorvaldsen, by the advice of the 
 architect Mailing, took another mould of them, from which 
 a new plaster was cast. He thought that the King of Den- 
 mark might be glad to possess a copy of this composition, 
 for which a fitting place could be found in the " Rittersaal," 
 or knight's hall, in the new palace. It was from this plaster 
 that he subsequently executed the first marble copy ordered 
 by Napoleon I, and supposed to have been intended for 
 the Temple of G-lory, now the Church of the Madeleine.'- 
 The price was 320,000 francs, of which the half only was 
 paid, when reverse of fortune sent Napoleon to the Island 
 of Elba. The Bourbon government was not eager to facil- 
 itate the completion of a work intended to glorify the 
 new Alexander ; and the artist, after ofi'ering it unsuc- 
 cessfully to several European sovereigns for the sum neces- 
 sary to finish it, finally disposed of it to a private individ- 
 ual, a rich amateur, the Count of Sommariva, for 100,000 
 francs. 
 
 The first hasty conception of this work met with some 
 adverse criticisms. Thorvaldsen paid heed to those he 
 thought just, and corrected his compositions with the great- 
 est care. He first changed the attitude of the principal fig- 
 ure, Alexander in his chariot, which was too theatrical. The 
 change was a happy one. He also modified some of the 
 
 1 Thiele. 
 
LIFE OF THORVALDSEJS. 51 
 
 details of other portions. While he was putting this com- 
 position into marble, he modelled for the Danish govern- 
 ment a new copy in i^laster ; for, to the deep regret of the 
 artist, the state of the Danish finances did not allow of a 
 greater outla3^ The whole work may be said to have been 
 remodelled ; and the Romans were so delighted with it that 
 they gave him the rather extraordinary title of " Patriarch 
 of Bas-relief." ^ Subsequently he had the satisfaction of exe- 
 cuting the frieze in marble for his countrj^men. 
 
 Feb. 12, 1812, the sculptor was made member of the 
 Imperial Academy of Vienna. Though " The Triumph of 
 Alexander" occupied almost all his time, he undertook this 
 same year several other great works. Napoleon's speech of 
 the 26th of June, on the occasion of the general confer- 
 ence of Warsaw, having held out hopes for the re-estab- 
 lishment of the kingdom of Poland, the Polish national 
 government wished to erect a monument in memory of 
 the occurrence. The Emperor's words were engraved on 
 a marble tablet, and the architrave above was to be up- 
 held by two carj^atides, for which Thorvaldsen received a 
 commission. But these two figures met with the same fate 
 as " The Triumph of Alexander." The artist fell ill, and 
 could not finish the statues soon enough, and when the}^ 
 were ready there was no longer any Poland ! The}^ were 
 afterward purchased by the Danish government, and placed 
 each side of the royal throne in the palace of Christians- 
 borg. 
 
 In June and July, 1813, Thorvaldsen sufl'ered from another 
 attack of that malignant fever of which he was so often the 
 victim, and was forced to suspend work. While in this con- 
 dition he received a letter from the Baron von Schubart, 
 begging him to come to Montenero and join them in a trip 
 to the baths of Lucca, whither they were going for the health 
 
 Nagler. 
 
52 
 
 LIFE OF THOnVALDSEN. 
 
 of the baroness. This was a fine opportunity for the artist, 
 and all his friends urged him to embrace it. Even the jeal- 
 ous Anna Maria offered no opposition, for she saw that 
 Thorvaldsen really needed rest. He was now bound to her 
 more closely than ever, by the birth of a daughter, to whom 
 he was tenderly attached. He nevertheless decided to leave 
 the mother and child in charge of an Italian family with 
 whom Anna Maria was intimate./ The father of this family 
 was a dealer in curiosities, named Angelo Cremaschi : he 
 had a wife and two daughters. 
 
 Having put his affairs in order, ^ and made some arrange- 
 ments respecting his ateliers, Thorvaldsen left for Montenero, 
 and thence went to Lucca with the baron and baroness. 
 His sojourn at the baths was delightful. His reputation 
 brought him much gratifying notice, while he was specially 
 flattered by the attentions paid him by young and pretty 
 women. He had now become in every respect a man of 
 the world, and when he chose was perfectly at home iu 
 the best societ}^ The grand-duchess of Tuscany, who was 
 then at Lucca, received him so kindly that the report of 
 it spread abroad. There is nothing, however, to lead us 
 to suppose that she favored him excepting as an artist ; 
 but as the princess sent for him afterward to Florence, 
 to confide some important works to him, this simple fact 
 gave rise to countless rumors, some of which reaching 
 Rome, created a great excitement in the household of Sig- 
 nora Cremaschi. The feminine council drew from them 
 the most exaggerated conclusions, disquieting the jealous 
 Anna Maria, and consequently disturbing her nursing in- 
 fant. 
 
 In the month of December Thorvaldsen returned tran- 
 
 1 His two dogs only remained to be provided for, — Perrucca and Teverino. We 
 know how attached Thorvaldsen was to these animals. A friend in whom he had all 
 confidence, and who afterward became a celebrated artist, the sculptor Rodolph 
 Schadow, consented to take charge of them. (Thiele.) 
 
LIFE OF THOBVALDSEN. 
 
 53 
 
 quilly to Rome, his health wholly restored by this rest of 
 several months. By letters received from Montenero, he 
 heard the good news that the baroness was equally bene- 
 fited. He was therefore much shocked when in the ensuing 
 February (1814) he was suddenly informed, by a letter from 
 the baron, that that excellent woman had died after a short 
 illness. Thorvaldsen felt her death keenlj^ The baroness 
 was as modest as she was accomplished. With no ostenta- 
 tion in her manner of bestowing favors, she liked to be of 
 service to artists, and to Thorvaldsen in particular she had 
 ever been a kind patron and true friend. In his heartfelt 
 desire to testify his gratitude, he set to work immediately 
 and modelled a bas-relief, representing her husband trying 
 to recall his spouse, while the Genius of Death extinguishes 
 the torch of life. 
 
 It was just at this time when Thorvaldsen had lost his 
 best friend, that Pietro Tenerani, who was one day to 
 become his most remarkable pupil, entered his atelier. Te- 
 nerani was nephew of a certain Pietro Marchetti, a marble- 
 worker of Carrara, who was in the habit of furnishing the 
 master with the marble blocks he required for his work. 
 
 A young Danish painter, Eckersberg, came to Rome at 
 the same time, and was kindly assisted by Thorvaldsen. 
 The two soon became friends ; and Eckersberg painted 
 the sculptor's portrait, one of the best likenesses of him 
 that we have, — a little cold, but finely touched, it gives 
 us a very correct idea of how Thorvaldsen looked at 
 forty. 
 
 In 1814, the artist composed the bas-relief of " Nessus and 
 Dejanira," and returned again to the subject of " Love Vic- 
 torious," — not being satified with a previous attempt. A 
 small statue, the " Boy Cupid," and another of the young 
 Georgina Russell, are of the same date. 
 
 To the year 1815 belong four important bas-reliefs : " The 
 Workshop of Vulcan," where, grouped near the god, are 
 
54 
 
 LIFE OF THORVALDSEJS'. 
 
 Venus, Cupid, and Mars ; the beautiful composition " Achilles 
 and Priam," of which we have already spoken, — a great and 
 masterly work, and, to our thinking, Thorvaldsen's chef- 
 d'oeuvre; and the two famous medallions "Morning" and 
 " Night." The latter, it is said, was conceived during a 
 sleepless night, and modelled in one da}'. It is truly a piece 
 of inspiration. The Goddess of the Shades, launched with 
 infinite lightness into space, slowly wings her flight, carry- 
 ing in her arms her two children Sleep and Death. The 
 " Morning " is also a very graceful work, but not so fine 
 as the other. There is between the two all the distance 
 which separates sudden, irresistible inspiration from inge- 
 nious and studied effort. These two medallions, prized 
 highly by connoisseurs, soon acquired immense popularity : 
 they were engraved on precious stones and on cameos, 
 moulded in plaster and porcelain, — reproduced, in fact, 
 under all forms. 
 
 While these two bas-reliefs were adding to Thorvaldsen's 
 reputation in Rome, and the Italians themselves, in spite of 
 their instinctive jealousy of strangers, could no longer with- 
 hold their praise, a few of his works, especially a fine 
 series of drawings sent to the Copenhagen Exposition, 
 attracted to him more than ever the attention of his country- 
 men. The Danish capital had not yet recovered from the 
 bombardment by the English in 1807, and a large portion 
 was still to be rebuilt. Frederick VI, the reigning sover- 
 eign, had very little knowledge of art, and being of a frank 
 and honorable nature, declined to assume, even in appear- 
 ance, a part for which he felt that he was by nature unfitted. 
 He was glad to leave to his cousin Prince Christian Frederick 
 its honors and its responsibilities. That prince, notwith- 
 standing the failure of his former invitation, was so anxious 
 to secure the assistance of Thorvaldsen, which he knew 
 would be invaluable, that he was ready to tr}^ everj^ means 
 to attain his end. He therefore strongly urged the artist's 
 
LIFE OF THORVALDSEN. 
 
 55 
 
 friends to join their entreaties to his own ; and thus the 
 sculptor received almost at the same moment a number of 
 pressing letters, which dwelt upon the esteem in which he 
 was held in Copenhagen, and the need they had of his assist- 
 ance. He was told at the same time that it would be unpa- 
 triotic in him to withhold it. 
 
 "You and your works are much talked of," writes his friend Pro- 
 fessor Brondsted, Dec. 2, 1815, "not only by the few who have 
 really a love and knowledge of art, but by two other classes of peo- 
 ple, whose judgments, though not entitled to much esteem and often 
 faulty, have weight from the influence exerted by those who hold 
 them ; and by these two classes I mean the common herd and what 
 is usually called the heau monde, or aristocracy. The opinions of the 
 latter are often neither noble nor great, as long experience has 
 shown. But I must do them the justice to say, that latterly they 
 have always spoken of you with an enthusiasm which has given me 
 as well as your other friends great pleasure ; though it is easy for us 
 to see that this admiration has not its source either in just ideas of 
 art in general, or any distinct perception of your genius and worth 
 in particular. ... To be brief, the conclusion of all this is, that you 
 ought to come for the sake of the country as well as for art and 
 yourself." 
 
 This was true, and Thorvaldsen recognized it. But though 
 he had a sincere desire to devote his talents and knowledge 
 to his countr3''s service, he was obliged to defer this gratifi- 
 cation to some future time. That he might execute the 
 orders flowing in from all quarters, he had just provided him- 
 self with larger work-rooms. At the foot of the high terraces 
 of the Palace Barberini, at the corner of the piazza and the 
 Vicolo delle Colonette, he had noticed three buildings admira- 
 bly suited to his purpose. They adjoined each other and 
 had a garden. He converted them into three work-rooms, 
 where he lived long years, composing new works and making 
 his pup-Is reproduce them. He was just settled in them 
 wlien these letters urging him to return came from Copen- 
 hagen. All he could do, therefore, was to send a letter of 
 
56 
 
 LIFE OF THOBVALDSEN. 
 
 excuse to the Prince of Denmark, pleading his numerous 
 engagements, and the necessity he was under of fulfilling 
 them, and promising at the same time not to contract any 
 new obligations, so as to be free to gratify the wishes of his 
 countrymen the following spring. But many unforeseen ob- 
 stacles intervened, and the project was not carried into effect 
 until July, 1819. 
 
 This period of Thorvaldsen's life in Rome was also fruitful 
 in great works. In 1816 he modelled a new statue of 
 " Hebe," a variation of the one he had composed ten years 
 before. In the first, the right breast is bare ; while in the 
 second, which is more amply draped, the bosom is entirely 
 covered, and the whole statue is characterized b}^ a modest 
 grace. He made, besides, a new " Ganymede." The first 
 holds a brimming cup, the second pours from an amphora 
 the nectar of the gods. 
 
 The " Venus" was finished the same year, that noble and 
 beautiful statue which the artist had so long studied, and for 
 which he had employed successively more than thirty models. 
 The master cast aside his first essay made in 1805, with 
 which he was not satisfied, and devoted three years of assid- 
 uous labor to the composition of the new figure, one of his 
 most careful works. This statue has been often reproduced : 
 the first three copies in marble were for Lord Lucan, the 
 Duchess of Devonshire, and — a little later — foV Mr. P C. 
 Labouchere.i According to Herr Thiele, they were exposed 
 to great risks before arriving at their places of destination in 
 England. The left arm of the Duchess of Devonshire's was 
 
 1 Mr. Peter Caesar Lalbouchere, a native of Holland, and at that time the head of 
 ♦he house of Hope & Co., Amsterdam, had married a daughter of Sir Francis Baring, 
 Baronet, and thus became brother-in-law of Mr. Alexander Baring, afterward Lord 
 Ashburton. His son, Mr. Henry Labouchere, the present owner of the "Venus," 
 was for several years a member of the British Cabinet, and one of her Majesty's 
 Privy Council. He was raised to the Peerage under the title of Lord Taunton. It is 
 he who figures with Thorvaldsen in the bas-rehef of Homer. The resemblance is 
 said to be perfect. 
 
LIFE OF THOBVALDSEN. 
 
 57 
 
 broken when the vessel was unloading, and the break was 
 concealed by means of a gold bracelet. i This copy is at 
 Chatsworth. The vessel which carried Lord Lucan's was 
 wrecked on the coast of England. Bat " Venus Astarte, 
 daughter of the salt sea," rose again from the bosom of 
 the waters, thanks to the efforts made to save her. She 
 was uninjured ! Finally, the statue impatiently expected 
 by Mr. Labouchere safely arrived in port. The powerful 
 arm of the crane was just lifting it from the vessel, when 
 the rope broke, and the weighty box slid through the hatch- 
 ways and fell heavily to the bottom of the hold. The cargo, 
 fortunately, was wheat, and tlie goddess was once more pre- 
 served. Ceres had saved Venus. 
 
 While engaged upon his " Venus," Thorvaldsen made 
 at the same time the famous restoration of the ^Egina 
 marbles, which in the eyes of connoisseurs brought him 
 as much well-earned honor as his own fine original com- 
 positions. A work of this nature was, in fact, no common 
 undertaking, and to grapple with its difficulties required 
 a very extensive acquaintance with Greek art. But, as 
 we have already seen, Thorvaldsen thoroughly understood 
 the subject ; and he now gave the best possible proof that 
 he did so, for it is doubtful whether any other artist could 
 have been found capable of solving the problem so satis- 
 factorily. 
 
 The ^gina marbles were discovered in 1811, in the Island 
 of ^gina, by Baron von Haller, Cockerell, Foster, and 
 Linkh. They formerly ornamented the pediment of a tem- 
 ple consecrated to Jupiter Panhellenius. In 1812 they were 
 bought by the Prince of Bavaria, for 150,000 francs. He 
 had them transported to Rome, and Thorvaldsen was charged 
 with their restoration. A great number of fragments, some- 
 
 1 The same statue was also broken at both ankles ; and, to conceal the breaks, 
 anklets have been placed upon them. 
 
58 
 
 LIFE OF thorvaldsen: 
 
 times whole limbs, were wanting. The artist was fully 
 aware of the magnitude of the task proposed, and it was 
 not without considerable reluctance, therefore, that he 
 assumed so great a responsibilit}^ ; but, after once under- 
 taking the work, it ver}^ soon absorbed him and became a 
 favorite occupation. To prosecute it with more facility, 
 he hired premises in the Corso, where he had room enough 
 to bring all the fragments together, recompose the pedi- 
 ment, and study every part in reference to the whole ; sup- 
 pl3dng carefully all the missing pieces, and preserving in 
 its purity the semi-hieratic style of the work. Thorvaldsen 
 was not more than a year in making this restoration. The 
 statues were in Parian marble, and he used so much care 
 in matching the tints of the new pieces as almost to deceive 
 a practised eye. He was frequently asked by visitors to 
 the atelier, which were the restored parts. " I cannot 
 say," he would reply, laughing. " I neglected to mark 
 them, and I no longer remember. Find them out for 
 yourself, if you can." Unfortunately the restored parts of 
 this magnificent pediment, in the Glyptothek of Munich, 
 can now be distinguished from the others, at a first glance, 
 by the diff'erence of color ; the hue of the new marble so 
 carefully matched having changed, as might have been ex- 
 pected, by exposure to the air, whilst the old remains the 
 same. 
 
 The following j^ear, 1817, Thorvaldsen produced, besides 
 a marble of "Love Victorious," modelled in 1814, a Bac- 
 chante known as " The Dancing-girl," the bust of Lord 
 Byron, a "Young Shepherd with his Dog," a group of 
 " Ganj-mede and the Eagle," and a statue of " Hope." In 
 the poet Andersen's autobiographj^, we find this account of 
 the sculptor's interview with the author of " Childe Harold." 
 " It was in Rome," said Thorvaldsen, " that I made the bust 
 of Lord Byron. When this nobleman came to sit to me in 
 my atelier, he took a seat opposite me, and put on directly a 
 
LIFE OF THOBVALBSEN. 
 
 59 
 
 strange expression entirely different from his natural one. 
 ' My Lord,' I said to him, ' please keep perfectly still ; and I 
 beg of 3"ou do not look so disconsolate.' ' It is my natural 
 expression,' replied Byron. ' Really ! ' I said ; and without 
 paying attention to this affectation I began to work in 
 my own way. When the bust was finished, everybody 
 thought it a striking likeness, but my lord was dissatisfied. 
 ' This face is not mine,' he said ; ' I look far more unhappy 
 than that,' — for he was obstinately bent upon looking mis- 
 erable ! " 
 
 Thorvaldsen's simple nature, it is clear, could scarcely 
 comprehend so extraordinary a degree of imaginary wretch- 
 edness. The character of the two men was as opposite a& 
 their careers in art were divergent. 
 
 The group of " Gan3^mede and the Eagle," " The Young 
 Shepherd and Dog," and the statue of " Hope," show, by 
 their severity of style, the results of Thorvaldsen's assid- 
 uous study of the ^gina marbles. One day when he was 
 working upon " The Gan3^mede," his model, who had a 
 ver^" fine figure, sat himself down in a corner of the atelier 
 and unconsciously assumed a very charming attitude. Thor- 
 valdsen was struck with it, and it suggested to him the 
 composition of " The Young Shepherd." The dog was 
 modelled from his favorite " Teverino." As to the statue 
 of " Hope," it is wholl}^ an archaic work. A reduced copy 
 was subsequently erected over the tomb of the Baroness von 
 Humboldt. 
 
 Several academies had already conferred upon the Danish 
 sculptor the honor of membership : in the September of 
 1817 he received from the Perugia Academy of Fine Arts 
 a diploma of Accademico di merito. Carrara conferred a 
 membership upon him, February, 1818 ; and the restoration 
 of the ^gina marbles earned for him a similar honor from 
 the Academy of Archaeology at Rome. 
 
6o 
 
 LIFE OF THOBVALDSEN. 
 
 Walking one day in the Corso, the artist saw, seated on a 
 curb-stone, a porter, whose attitude was both so natural and 
 uncommon that he was directly impressed by it. As usual, 
 he made a rapid sketch of the figure in his note-book ; and 
 it furnished him with the action for his " Mercur}^," one of 
 his finest creations, which was finished the following year, 
 1819. There exist several copies in marble of this beautiful 
 and severe work. 
 
 The elegant statue of the Princess Baryatinska, in which 
 the artist, without sacrificing any of the severitj^ or purity 
 of the antique style, has succeeded in preserving the aristo- 
 cratic air and characteristic British ty^Q of his subject, is 
 of the same year. Among Thorvaldsen's portrait-statues, 
 modelled from life, this is, in our opinion, his finest work. 
 Owing to various causes, the marble, which was finely cut, 
 remained in Thorvaldsen's possession, and passed, finally, 
 into his museum.^ 
 
 " Our Lord giving to St. Peter the Keys of Paradise," 
 in the chapel of the Pitti Palace at Florence, is a work of 
 the same period. The group of " The Three Graces " was 
 also completed at this time. The first sketch was made 
 in 1817; and the master intrusted to his pupil, Tenerani, 
 the task of separately studying each figure. This prepara- 
 tory work done, Thorvaldsen took the statues in hand 
 himself, and finished them entirely. Subsequently he again 
 took up the same subject, but treated it very differently. 
 Though both of these groups have received the appro- 
 
 1 The statue was ordered by Prince Baryatinski : its price was fixed at 3,000 
 Roman crowns, a third of which was paid in advance. The prince died, and Thor- 
 valdsen neglected to get the address of the princess, who also died several years 
 afterward, and in the mean while had entirely forgotten her statue. After the death 
 of his mother, her son reclaimed it, offering to pay the rest of the stipulated price; 
 but the trustees of the Museum of Copenhagen, already in possession of the treas- 
 ures bequeathed by the artist, did not feel it their duty to give up so precious a work. 
 The sum that had already been paid was given back to the young prince, for whom 
 Herr Bissen made a marble copy of the statue. 
 
LIFE OF THORVALDSEN. 
 
 6i 
 
 bation of eminent judges, we find much to criticise in 
 them, neither really satisfying us. A little Love, which 
 figures in both, is justly much admired ; and there are in 
 existence, it is said, more than a dozen separate copi(».s of it 
 in marble. 
 
THE NEST OF LOVES. 
 
LIFE OF THOBVALBSEN. 
 
 63 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Miss Mackenzie Seaforth. — Illness of Thorvaldsen. — Stay at Albano. 
 — Convalescence. — Excursion to Naples. — Liaison with a 
 Viennese Lady. — Departure for Denmark. 
 
 The last two years of Thorvald- 
 sen's life in Ital}^, previous to his 
 departure for Copenhagen, were 
 kept in a state of agitation b}^ 
 affairs of the heart. Poor Anna 
 Maria was to encounter formida- 
 ble rivals : it was her lot to con- 
 tend both with an Englishwoman, 
 virtuous and well-born, and a se- 
 ductive Viennese. 
 
 To women of much intelligence, 
 there is a powerful charm in a 
 man's celebrity. While others of 
 lower aims are won by the at- 
 tractions of rank or fortune, the}^, 
 first captivated by the fame of the 
 artist, become easily enamoured of 
 the man himself. This was the 
 case with Thorvaldsen. Absorbed 
 in his work, and in the love of 
 art, he undoubtedly would have 
 resisted allurements of this sort, had they not been so un- 
 ceasing. We beg pardon for thus entering into details 
 
 1.0 VE VICTORIOUS. 
 
64 
 
 LIFE OF THOBVALDSEN. 
 
 respecting the artist's private affairs, but our disclosures 
 help to reveal his character ; and surely the feelings of the 
 man can never be indifferent to those who admire the works 
 of the artist. 
 
 Thorvaldsen was intimate with several English families, 
 who took a warm interest in his welfare. Nothing, they 
 thought, was more desirable for the master, whose health at 
 that time required great care, than a regular and peaceable 
 life. Letters which have since come to light put us upon 
 the track of a sort of conspiracy- ^ long and discreetly carried 
 on. In a letter to the artist from Mr. Arthur Carignan, that 
 gentleman paints a glowing picture of the domestic felicity 
 enjo3'ed by one of his friends, and shortly afterward in the 
 postscript of another letter he incidentally introduces the 
 person destined to play the principal part in this romantic 
 drama. "It is possible," he writes, "that Miss Mackenzie 
 Seaforth, accompanied by an older lady, will come to visit 
 your atelier. In this case I recommend her particularly to 
 you, and all the more because the young lady has a very 
 happ3" talent, not only for the fine arts in general, but espe- 
 ciall}' for the art of modelling." 
 
 Miss Frances Mackenzie, who was of an honorable Scotch 
 famil}-, did indeed come to the atelier with her aunt Mrs. 
 Prob3\ She was not remarkable for her beautj^, but she 
 pleased by more solid qualities. She had a fine and culti- 
 vated mind, was especially well-informed with regard to art, 
 and was possessed of a true taste and real talent for sculp- 
 ture. She paid frequent visits to the artist, feeling for him 
 at first a great admiration, and soon a profound S3-mpath3\ 
 
 In the spring of 1818, Thoj-valdsen, in an excursion to 
 Tivoli with some gay friends, caught a violent cold, accom- 
 panied by fever, from viewing the falls at night. He was so 
 ill that he was obliged to remain at Tivoli, and keep his bed. 
 Growing worse, he was taken to Albano, as the air of Tivoli 
 
 1 Thiele. 
 
LIFE OF THORVALDSEN. 
 
 65 
 
 is hurtful to invalids. It was now expected that he would 
 quickly rally ; but the artist had not the requisite patience to 
 remain quiet, and insisted, in spite of all advice, upon return- 
 ing to Rome in so weak a condition that he had a return of one 
 of his old attacks of depression. His friends now began to 
 be seriously alarmed, and insisted upon his returning to the 
 pure and bracing air of Albano ; but he obstinately refused 
 to go there alone, awa}^ from all society. 
 
 Miss Mackenzie, deeply concerned at the dangerous condi- 
 tion of the great artist, her friend, promised him that, if he 
 went to Albano, she would go with her aunt to Genzano, which 
 is in the neighborhood. She did so ; and Thorvaldsen fol- 
 lowed the two larlies, who visited him frequently and even 
 came to live at Albano, that they might be at hand to give 
 him the care which his state of health required. Such affec- 
 tionate kindness and delicate attention, together with the 
 pure air, produced a happy change ; and Miss Mackenzie had 
 the pleasure of seeing Thorvaldsen gradually restored to life 
 and health. Her joy in such a result, and his tender grati- 
 tude, together with the influences of the spring in beautiful 
 Itaty, — to which an artist especially is so susceptible, — 
 created a close bond between them. 
 
 It frequently happens that men of active minds, who apply 
 themselves closely to work, continue young much longer 
 than those whose existence has been frittered away in trivial 
 pursuits. When these thinkers, these indefatigable workers, 
 are turned aside from their usual course by any forjfcuftous 
 circumstance, they surrender their hearts with the naivete 
 of children, and resume their youth just at the point where 
 they seem to have left it behind forever. 
 
 Thorvaldsen was fort3^-eight years old. Nothing was more 
 natural than that he should have yielded to a tender passion, 
 but that he should have given himself up to it so unre- 
 servedly is indeed strange. He behaved like a youth of 
 
66 
 
 LIFE OF THOBVALDSEN. 
 
 twenty. Instead of returning to Rome, though he was 
 entirely convalescent, he planned a pleasure trip to Naples, 
 and induced his friends to accompany him. Throughout all 
 the journey he was not himself, but a^^^oung lover. In their 
 charming excursions to Sorrento, to Capri, to Is,chia, he cared 
 so little to conceal his affection that Miss Mackenzie, seeing 
 lier British reserve in peril, was sometimes obliged to be 
 cold in order to keep him within proper bounds. The artist 
 would then appear to suffer all the torments of love. Rumors 
 of this trip and the approaching marriage of Thorvaldsen 
 were not slow in reaching Rome, and he even received let- 
 ters of congratulation. 
 
 " Miss Mackenzie is a charming person," writes Baron von 
 Schubart from Rome to Naples, where the artist still was. 
 " She is well-born, and remarkably well-educated and intel- 
 lectual. All the English hold her in high esteem ; and the 
 popularity yon now enjoy with them must increase, if you 
 marry their coantry woman. She has too good a heart not 
 to make you perfectly happy, and everybod}^ will applaud 
 the union of two sljcu excellent persons. I am even per« 
 suaded that, if it should ue necessary, Miss Mackenzie would 
 willingly adopt the little Jliiza as her own child." 
 
 Thorvaldsen did not reply. He returned to Rome in the 
 month of October, and his tirst interview with Anna Maria 
 was terrible. The eyes of the jealous Italian flashed fire, 
 aer anger broke out in curses, and she finally threatened in 
 aer desperation that, if he dared to marry the Englishwoman, 
 she would kill him, kill her child, and then put an end to her 
 own wretched life. It was not in the artist's nature to hold 
 out against such dreadful threats. Although he did nothing 
 to appease the anger of his offended mistress, he feared to 
 push her to the last extremity. He temporized, and when 
 she saw that he was making no preparations for an approach- 
 ing marriage her fears were gradually dispelled. 
 
LIFE OF THORVALDSEN. 
 
 67 
 
 The return to Rome had also modified the situation. The 
 young Scotch girl had been in the pleasant habit of seeing 
 Thorvaldsen ever at her side, paying her assiduous court. 
 When she saw him returning to his work, and busy in writ- 
 ing up a voluminous and dela^'ed correspondence, she felt 
 neglected, and committed the imprudence of showing her. 
 self a little piqued. Thorvaldsen perceived it, and thought 
 this pretension almost ridiculous. 
 
 It is ver}^ certain that, enfeebled by illness, his imagination 
 excited by the somewhat romantic circumstances attending 
 his restoration to health, the artist had experienced a momen- 
 tary' intoxication. During the journey, the charm of a new 
 life and the beauty of the scenery had contributed to pro- 
 long the illusion. Returning to Rome, and finding again in 
 his atelier the true object of his worship, Art, the truth broke 
 upon him ; and he realized that his feelings were those of 
 friendship only. From that time the roles were reversed. He 
 continued his visits, and was simply aff'ectionate : the Eng- 
 lish girl became more and more demonstrative, and it soon 
 became evident that there was no longer an}' love except in 
 the heart of Miss Mackenzie. 
 
 While Thorvaldsen hesitated between his mistress, whose 
 jealousy he still feared to exasperate, and her whom the 
 world obstinately persisted in calling his betrothed, he began 
 to detect between Miss Mackenzie and himself an incompati- 
 bility whether in character or habits of life, which seemed to 
 him to be an obstacle to their living together in perfect har- 
 mony. The young girl was probably not quite beautiful 
 enough to excite in an artist a veritable passion. Owing 
 to her excellent British education, she had moreover very 
 rigid ideas of propriety and social decorum, to which Thor- 
 valdsen, who, though well-bred, was very unconventional, 
 could scarcely accommodate himself. In the free and easy 
 life they had led while travelling, this incompatibility was 
 
68 
 
 LIFE OF THORVALDSEN. 
 
 scarcel3' noticed ; but in societ}- at Rome it was felt in its 
 full extent. 
 
 Time wore on, bringing no relief from this embarrassing 
 situation. To put an end to it, a crisis was needed ; and it 
 was another woman who occasioned it. The artist's hour 
 of fate was at hand. It was on the stroke of midnight, so it 
 is related, on the last night of the old _year (1818), that his 
 heart was suddenly taken captive. When the worthy Herr 
 Thiele records this event, upon which he does not love to 
 dwell, he veils his face, and without hesitation pronounces a 
 censure that may seem, perhaps, a little severe. "Hence- 
 forth," he says, " our artist appears willing to set at delSance 
 all duty and the opinion of the world : he takes the wreath 
 with which a host of admirers had encircled his brows, and 
 sets it upon the abundant tresses of his adored goddess, — 
 the sight of whose dazzling beauty transports him with joy, 
 — whilst his Good Genius turns awa}^ his face and weeps." 
 
 There had just arrived in Rome, in company with a Ger- 
 man family, a lad}^ who also bore the name of Frances, — a 
 woman in all the warm splendor of thirt3^-flve, ardent and 
 impassioned, whom her contemporaries describe as " a radiant 
 setting sun, flushing with its golden raj^s a beautiful autumn 
 evening." Is not that the artist's favorite hour ? And shall 
 we be as severe as Herr Thiele ? 
 
 The sculptor and the lady became speedilj^ enamoured. 
 How far their liaison was close and complete, it is not for us 
 to decide. Frequent visits, a very brisk correspondence, — 
 that is all we know. 
 
 " Write in a letter hum this is the sure way to have it pre- 
 served," says somewhere the author of " Les Causeries d'un 
 Curieux" ; and this is precisely what happened to the tender 
 Frances. 
 
 " Burn my letters," she does not fail to say again and 
 again, " for no one must ever know that I write to you. The 
 
LIFE OF THORVALDSEN. 
 
 69 
 
 world judges in its own wa}'. M}^ heart declares rae inno- 
 cent, and 3^ours must recognize me as such." 
 
 Now these notes are preserved with Thorvaldsen's other 
 papers in one of the cabinets of the Museum. It is true that 
 the gentlemen who are their custodians consider them as 
 a sacred deposit, and never permit any indiscreet aye to 
 rest upon them. However ardent the expressions in these 
 letters, they offer no evidence of a nature to compromise 
 their author, further than they prove the existence of one of 
 those passionate attachments which find vent in words that 
 evidently come from the heart, in soul-felt raptures, such as 
 it would be vain to look for in a mere commonplace liaison. 
 "With what joy I live over again in memory those delicious 
 hours, when my heart was wholly my dear Alberto's, and 
 his equally mine " Again : " Our love is all my happiness ; 
 I crave none other upon earth." . . . " My last thought, the 
 last act of m}^ life, will be a prayer for you." And when 
 they must part : " Could 3'ou quit me like an indifferent 
 acquaintance ? That would be impossible ! " 
 
 Thorvaldsen was equally enamoured, and according to 
 Herr Thiele " was for some time only the satellite of this 
 radiant star of love." 
 
 Letters in the mean while arrived for him from Scotland, 
 where they were expecting soon to see the sculptor and his 
 betrothed. Poor Miss Mackenzie, how she was then neg- 
 lected ! The artist gave bad reasons for his rare and irregu- 
 lar visits. These excuses were at first accepted. It is so 
 hard to renounce a dream of happiness, it is so eas}' to de- 
 ceive ourselves and cling to a dear illusion. 
 
 Unfortunately Thorvaldsen did not take much pains to 
 conceal his behavior. The object of his passion lived directly 
 opposite Miss Mackenzie ; and the poor, forsaken girl could 
 see him going day after day to visit her rival, could count 
 the hours of their tete-d-tete, and compare them with those she 
 passed neglected and alone ! 
 
70 
 
 LIFE OF THORVALDSEN. 
 
 She bore her grief in silence ; she drank the cup presented 
 to her without complaint, and was an object of compassion 
 even to those who did not wish to see her the wife of the 
 artist. Finally an English lad}' of rank, the common friend 
 of both, thought it her dut}" to interfere, and to demand from 
 Thorvaldsen a formal declaration of his intentions. In con- 
 sequence of this explanation. Miss Mackenzie left Rome, 
 May 5, 1819. She wrote to the sculptor from Florence some 
 yary dignified and truly touching letters, wherein she both 
 reproaches and pardons him for his inconstanc}' in a trul}^ 
 Christian spirit. " If you enjoy all the blessings that I 
 crave for 3'ou, you will be happier than I could have made 
 you, even in the happiest days of our union. Adieu." 
 
 Directl}^ upon writing these lines, she repaired to Switzer- 
 land, unwilling to appear in England, where her marriage 
 had been announced in the papers. 
 
 A lew years afterward (1826), Thorvaldsen was at a 
 party, turning over the leaves of an album and talking 
 gayl}^, when two ladies entered the same drawing-room. 
 One of the two was Miss Mackenzie. The artist became 
 pale and silent, and suddenly disappeared. In 1837, how- 
 ever, when Miss Mackenzie again returned to Rome, and 
 3^ears had softened the bitterness of this memor}^, the}- were 
 reconciled through the kind offices of friends, though in 
 future their relations were onl}^ those of friendship. Miss 
 Mackenzie died in Rome, Feb. 24, 1840. 
 
 In conclusion, it is only just to add that Thorvaldsen was 
 greatl}' distressed b}' the wrong he had done to the poor 
 girl, whose letters deeply touched him. These regrets 
 brought his liaison with the beautiful Viennese to a quicker 
 termination, for in order to free himself from the difficulties 
 of a false position he hastened to carry out his plan of a 
 voyage to Denmark. He left Rome, July 14, 1819. 
 
 From this time Thorvaldsen seems to have been free from 
 
LIFE OF THOBVALDSEN. 
 
 71 
 
 all entaDglements. Anna Maria herself no longer appears 
 in his life ; and, though we have no precise information on 
 this point, we are inclined to believe that he separated from 
 her before leaving Rome. He secured to her, however, a 
 maintenance, and did not lose sight of his child. 
 
THE AGES OF LOVE. 
 
LIFE OF TIIOBVALDSEN. 
 
 73 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 The Lion of Lucerne. — Keception by the Academy of Copenhagen. 
 — The True Kirke, or " Church of Our Lady."—" Journey through 
 Germany." — The Emperor Alexander. — Monuments of Coper- 
 nicus, Prince Poniatowski, Prince Potocki. — Return to Rome. 
 
 V 
 
 ^ir J OR "LLM^'^F p up AC _ 1 i ■ ^ 
 
 THE LION OF LUCERNE. 
 
 Thorvaldsen had 
 been twenty-three 
 years absent from 
 his country, when 
 his engagements 
 finall}^ permitted 
 him to retarn. On 
 leaving Rome, he 
 went first to Flor- 
 ence, then to Par- 
 ma, and to Milan, 
 where he remained 
 only a short time. 
 He then crossed 
 by the Simplon to 
 Lucerne, whith- 
 er he was called 
 to make arrange- 
 ments for the 
 monument which 
 Switzerland 
 wished to raise to 
 the memory of her 
 
74 
 
 LIFE OF TIIOHVALBSEN. 
 
 children who died in defence of the Tuileries, Aug. 10, 
 1792. 
 
 The events of that fatal day which hastened the fall of the 
 monarchy are well known. While Louis XVI, to " spare 
 tlie nation a great crime," allowed himself to be dragged to 
 the Assembly which a few hours later was to declare the 
 abolition of royalty, the mob rushed to attack the Tuileries, 
 which were guarded only by a handful of faithful defenders^ 
 consisting of noblemen, national and Swiss guards. These 
 repulsed the assailants, and might perhaps have entirel}^ put 
 down the riot for that da}^, had not an order arrived from the 
 king, commanding them not to fire upon the people, and to 
 retire. A few, however, of the unfortunate Swiss remained 
 in the palace, to whom it had not been possible to make 
 known the royal will. Exposed to all the fuxy of the popu- 
 lace, they were massacred without mercy, heroic but unavail- 
 ing victims of their devotion to a lost cause. 
 
 An officer of this loyal Swiss guard, who had escaped the 
 rage of the mob. General Pfyffer von Altishofen, had retu-ed 
 to Lucerne. He conceived the idea of erecting in his garden 
 a monument to the memory of his unfortunate comrades-in- 
 arms. All Switzerland responded to the call, and numerous 
 subscribers hastened to put down their names. Several 
 sovereign princes also desired to contribute ; and through 
 Herr Vincenz Riittiman, the Swiss ambassador at Rome. 
 Thorvaldsen was solicited to execute the monument 
 
 Though he was far from well at this time (1818), and 
 little disposed to undertake any new works, he was induced 
 to accept the commission, and modelled a sketch, represent- 
 ing a lion mortall}' wounded lying with his head resting upop 
 the royal escutcheon of France, upon which he still main- 
 tains his hold. The conception is in keeping with the 
 loftiness of the subject ; while the grand simplicit}^ of the 
 composition is worthy of the chivalric devotion it was de- 
 signed to perpetuate. 
 
LIFE OF THORVALDSEN. 
 
 75 
 
 Bienaime, one of Thorvaldsen's pupils, was employed to 
 begin the work after the sketch of the master, and when this 
 was done Thorvaldsen finished it himself. Never having 
 seen a live lion, he went to antique statues for inspiration. 
 The plaster was sent to Lucerne in the beginning of 1819. 
 The monument was intended to be in bronze, but hy Thor- 
 valdsen's advice that idea was abandoned. An immense 
 niche, thirt3^-two feet nine inches in height, was hollowed out 
 of the solid rock, and there the sculptor Lucas Aliorn, copy- 
 ing the plaster model, carved out of the native granite the 
 colossal lion. He began the work in March, 1820, and fin- 
 ished it in August, 1821, 
 
 Upon quitting Lucerne, Thorvaldsen continued his route 
 through Schaffhausen, Stuttgart (where he visited the 
 sculptor Dannecker, then engaged on a colossal statue of 
 Christ), Heidelberg, Frankfort, Coblentz, Cologne, Munster, 
 Hambourg, Sleswig, and arrived in Copenhagen the 3d of 
 October. 
 
 He proceeded directly to the Charlottenborg Palace (the 
 Academy of Fine Arts), where apartments had long been 
 prepared for him. The first person he saw there was the old 
 janitor, who had served as a model for the pupils when 
 Thorvaldsen was one of the students. This meeting, bring- 
 ing back as it did all the memories of his youth, filled him 
 with deep emotion. He threw himself upon the neck of the 
 old man, and embraced him affectionatel3^ 
 
 The news of Thorvaldsen's arrival soon spread throughout 
 the city. The friends of his childhood, and others who had 
 been in Italy and had seen him in Rome, hastened to greet 
 him. He gave them all a cordial welcome. Then followed 
 a throng of people who knew him only b}^ reputation. The 
 artist, who still retained his simple manners, was a little 
 bewildered by such an ovation. People crowded around 
 him, he said, as though he were the great Kraken of the 
 
76 
 
 LIFE OF THOEVALDSEN. 
 
 North, 1 that marine monster celebrated in Scandinavian 
 legends.^ 
 
 Among the few friends of his boyhood was a counsellor of 
 justice, Herr Haste,^ who had accompanied him twenty-three 
 years before on board the "Thetis" This magistrate thus 
 relates his interview with the sculptor : — 
 
 *' When we were alone at last, — for he had had a court about liira, 
 like a foreign prince of illustrious lineage, — he went to his desk to 
 get his album, and showed me some verses I had written in it as a 
 souvenir twenty four or five years before. He pressed my hand 
 silently, and returned to his desk from which he took a medal. ' See 
 here, my dear friend,' said he, ' some friends in Rome who hold me 
 in esteem have had this medal struck off in my honor. I have 
 brought four with me, and I am going to give you one of them. It 
 is only in bronze : I have a gold one, but I shall not give that to you. 
 The man must not be forgotten in the metal.' " 
 
 Whilst all the journals vied with one another in giving 
 Thorvaldsen a cordial welcome, the Academ}' of Copenhagen 
 organized a grand reception, which took place on the 15th 
 of October, in the great hall of the arquebusiers, and was 
 attended by the whole city. The students went to meet the 
 sculptor to the sound of drums* and trumpets, and lined the 
 street through which he passed. Cannon were fired, a can- 
 tata composed for the occasion was sung by the choral soci- 
 ety, and the poet Oehlenschlaeger made a formal address. 
 "If our ancestors," he remarked, "were once guilty of 
 throwing down in Rome the old masterpieces of art, the}^ are 
 to-da}', thanks to the genius of a son of the North, raised up 
 again in all tlieir pristine beaut}'." 
 
 The reception ended with a grand banquet, Thorvaldsen 
 
 1 Nagler. 
 
 2 The Norwegian sailors used often to relate stories about this extraordinary 
 animal, which Bishop Pontoppidan has described in his Natural History of Norway. 
 It ifj probable that it resembled in more than one respect the sea-serpent famoua in 
 our day. 
 
 3 See note 1, page 4. 
 
LIFE OF THORVALDSEN. 
 
 77 
 
 occiipjing the place of honor between Oehlenschlaoger and 
 Count von Schimiuelmann. The health of the students was 
 proposed by- the sculptor, a toast which was received with 
 loud applause by all the assembl}- ; but the enthusiasm 
 became tremendous when Count von Schimmelmann rose 
 and gave, "Here's to the fair daughters of Denmark, or, in 
 other words, here 's to the Graces of our Thorvaldsen." i 
 
 Finally the artist was received at court, and met with the 
 most flattering reception from the king and all the ro3'al 
 family. To enable him to sit at the table of the sovereign 
 without violating the strict etiquette of the period, the 
 dignity of Counsellor of State was conferred upon him. 
 
 All these attentions were a little fatiguing to Thorvaldsen. 
 He could not at first escape them even retreating into 
 his atelier ; for to see the artist at work became the fashion 
 of the day, and visit followed visit without cessation. A 
 great lad}^, seeing him one da}^ take some clay into his hands 
 and begin to model, said to him, " I suppose, Herr Professor, 
 you do not do such work 3^ourself when 3'ou are in E-ome ! " 
 " I assure 3'ou, madam," the artist replied good-naturedly, 
 " that this is the most essential thing." 
 
 Advantage was taken, moreover, of Thorvaldsen's presence 
 in Copenhagen, to consult him upon all questions relating to 
 art : he was called upon to suggest the most suitable means 
 for developing a taste for it in the countrj", and to make 
 reports. 2 
 
 Works for public buildings also occupied his attention. 
 Not onl}' the royal palace and the city hall were to be 
 enriched with sculpture, but likewise the palace chapel and 
 the Metropolitan Church of Our Lad}^, — the Frue Kirke. 
 
 This church had just been rebuilt, and Thorvaldsen was 
 allowed free scope to follow the bent of his own fancy in the 
 
 1 Thiele. 
 
 2 He was also commissioned to make busts of Frederick VI, his queen, the two 
 princesses royal, and the young Prince Frederick Charles Christian. 
 
78 
 
 LIFE OF THORVALDSEN. 
 
 planning of its entire embellishment. And it was now that 
 he first conceived the plan of that series of sculptural em- 
 bellishments which was finally to embrace every part of the 
 edifice inside and out, and in which are comprised almost 
 all his works on religious subjects. For the pediment, 
 " The Preaching of St. John the Baptist " ; for the doorwa}^, 
 "Christ's Entry into Jerusalem"; for the inside of the 
 church, the colossal "Christ and the Twelve Apostles"; 
 behind the altar, the grand frieze of " Christ on the road to 
 Calvary" ; and for the side walls, " The Baptism of Christ" 
 and " The Lord's Supper." 
 
 Though he received only the order for " The Preacliing of 
 St. John" and the "Christ and Twelve Apostles," at this 
 time, his brief stay in Denmark was nevertheless profitable 
 to himself as well as to his countr3\ He left Copenhagen 
 Aug. 12, 1820,^ and travelling by easy stages returned to 
 Italy b}^ way of German3\ At Dresden and Berlin he was 
 warmly welcomed by his friends. At Warsaw, whither he 
 was called negotiations long pending for important works, 
 he arrived Sept. 19. Here he was presented to the Emperor 
 Alexander. 
 
 The course pursued b}' the Sovereign of all the Russias at 
 the time of the invasion of France by the allied troops, had 
 made him ver}^ popular in Europe, nor was it forgotten in 
 France that he had strenuously opposed Blucher's vindictive 
 proposals to dismember the countr3\ 
 
 Hearing that the sculptor wished to make his bust, he 
 wiliingi}^ consented, though he had refused a similar request 
 of Canova, — perhaps because that sculptor's name had been 
 so closely associated with Napoleon's famil3\ Thorvaldsen, 
 on the contrary, thougli a Dane, was the adopted sculptor 
 of Germany. The emperor treated him with great kindness : 
 he gave him several sittings, and when he found that the 
 
 1 The governnicnt gave him 2,300 Danish crowns — about $1,400 — to pay his 
 expcntscs. 
 
Lli'E OF TBOBVALDSEN. 
 
 79 
 
 military coat he wore was a hinclraiice to the artist he not 
 only imiuediateiy bared his throat, but also his chest. It was, 
 however, a point of etiquette that the sculptor should remain 
 at a respeciful distance from the Sovereign of all the Russias. 
 CJpon Tnorvaldsen s falling ill, the emperor dii'ectly sent his 
 own physician to him ; and when the artist came to take 
 leave of him, the monarch, who had previously X->fesented him 
 with a ring set in diamonds, threw aside all stifliie.^.s of eti- 
 quette, and embraced him cordiall3\ 
 
 Before quitting W arsaw, Thorvaldsen had a lew Cv/p'es of 
 the czar's bust hastily cast in plaster, and presented them 
 to several grand personages ; and after he returned to Kome 
 he received so many orders that he kept for years iskiUod 
 workmen continually employed in reproducing the bust in 
 marble. 
 
 While Thorvaldsen was at Warsaw, the President of the 
 Royal Society of the Friends of Science and Belles-Lettreb 
 of that city made an agreement with him for a monument in 
 honor of Copernicus,^ to be placed in the square of the Uni- 
 versity. The statue was finished three ^^ears later ; but 
 various circumstances prevented its being sent home, and the 
 inauguration did not take place until May 11, 1830. 
 
 But the especial object of Thorvaldsen's journey to iroland 
 was the equestrian statue of Prince Poniatowski. The /'.rsl 
 proposition in regard to it was made in a letter written in 
 1817, b}' Count Mokronowski, in the name of the committ.^e 
 formed for the purpose of erecting a monument to the Poli& L 
 hero. Thorvaldsen now arranged the matter in person wit a 
 
 1 The Poles have always shown themselves very proud of the works of Coper- 
 nicus, who in 1504 was made member of the Academy of Cracow, a very higb 
 distinction, and much sought after at that period. In 1801, the Society of the Friend& 
 of Science at Warsaw proposed a prize for the best paper on the discoveries of this 
 learned man. The statue to which we refer was erected at the cost of the Polish na- 
 tion by means of a subscription; 40.000 florins, however, were still wanting to com- 
 plete the required sum, and a learned minister of state, Abb6 Staszic, paid tlie deficit 
 out of his private purse. 
 
So 
 
 LIFE OF THOBVALDSEN. 
 
 the committee. But when he returned to Rome the work 
 was so long neglected, that the delay led to a correspondence 
 in which the Poles expressed their impatience, yqvj urgently 
 at first, and finally in very angry terms. ^ 
 
 The first idea of the sculptor was to represent the hero in 
 the national dress, urging his horse to leap into the river 
 where he met his death, while the animal hesitates and 
 struggles with his rider. Water was to flow from a fountain 
 in front of the pedestal. The first model, which was approved 
 of by the committee, carried out this idea ; but whether they 
 changed their minds, or whether the family objected to the 
 immediate cause of the hero's death being so plainl}^ recalled, 
 this model was thrown aside, and a thoroughly Roman statue 
 substituted, representing the prince in antique costume. The 
 work as it was finished has some resemblance to the eques- 
 trian statue of Marcus Aurelius on the Capitoline Hill. Fi- 
 nally completed in 1827, it was sent by way of Dantzic in 
 1828, and reached Warsaw in 1829. Owing to the time 
 required to cast it in bronze, it was not ready to be put in its 
 place before the 11th of May, 1830. 
 
 Then followed political complications ; and the Russian 
 government, not caring to allow the inauguration of a statue 
 calculated to excite national sentiment in Poland, it was 
 kept out of sight. What has become of it? It is difficult 
 to say positivel3\ Some assert that it was melted down and 
 the bronze used for cannon ; others, that it was only taken 
 apart and placed in the arsenal of Modlin, where it was 
 
 1 They wrote to him in 1825 : " In choosing a sculptor to perpetuate the glory of 
 Copernicus and Poniatowski, the whole nation has unanimously selected you, as the 
 artist the most famous and most worthy of rescuing from oblivion some memories at 
 least of our past glory. Can so noble and lofty a heart be insensible to such a choice ? 
 It often happens that artists are forced to celebrate pride without merit ; but you, sir, 
 in working for Poland, have undertaken a more honorable task, that of immortaliz- 
 ing the sublimest virtues, creative genius, valor, and patriotic devotion. Let these 
 motives speak to your heart, warm your genius, quicken your creative chisel. Send 
 us as soon as possible your masterpieces, that I'oland. m contemplating her heroes 
 may bless the artist who has restored them to life." 
 
LIFE OF THOBVALDSEN. 
 
 8£ 
 
 still to be found in 1842. According to a journal, the 
 " Kunstblatt," ^ the Russian government thought of trans- 
 porting it to Russia, and the family protesting against this 
 attempt it was melted down. But we are more inclined to 
 credit the version of the " Athenaeum." ^ According to the 
 English journal, the pieces of this statue were given to 
 the Prince of Warsaw,^ who, in putting them together, 
 changed Poniatowski into a Saint George. Under this title 
 the statue was removed to his countr3'-seat in Mohilew. If 
 this be so, it was the fate of the unfortunate prince to be 
 deprived of his national garb that he might enjoy an apotheo- 
 sis as a Roman general, only to be finally transformed into 
 a canonized saint. 
 
 While at "Warsaw, Thorvaldsen decided to compl}' with 
 the wishes of the Princess Potocka. This lady was anxious 
 that the artist should design a mausoleum in memor}- of her 
 husband, Prince Potocki, killed at the battle of Leipsic. She 
 had written to him upon the subject as far back as 1816. It 
 was the wish of the princess that the monument should be 
 placed in one of the chapels of the cathedral of Cracow. 
 It was to consist of a group of two figures, one personif^'ing 
 the hero prematurely cut down at twenty-two, the other 
 Poland, tinder the form of a beautiful woman, stately and 
 Juno-like. 
 
 Thorvaldsen repaired to Cracow, in October, 1820, and 
 persuaded the princess to consent to a change of plan ; and 
 subsequently merely' represented the young prince leaning 
 on his sword. This figure recalls to mind that of the Apollo 
 Belvedere, to which the artist had been requested to go for 
 inspiration. 
 
 From Cracow, Thorvaldsen proceeded to Troppau, where 
 
 1 No. 40, p. 160, 1842. 2 No. 1162, p. 13?, 1850. 
 
 3 The Athenaeum " must mean Greneral Paskewitsch, who, having forced the 
 capital of Poland to capitulate, Sept. 8, 1831, and placed the country again under the 
 Russian yoke, was made Prince of Warsaw by Alexander. 
 
82 
 
 LIFE OF THOBVALDSEN. 
 
 the Congress was assembled. He was honorably received 
 b}- these illustrious personages, especiall}^ by the Emperor of 
 Austria, to whom he had been recommended by the czar. 
 The Emperor Francis gave him a commission for a monu- 
 ment in memory of Prince of Schwarzenberg, for which the 
 artist made a sketch ; but for some cause, unknown to us, the 
 order was not fulfilled. 
 
 Thorvaldsen was at Vienna, where he had passed three 
 pleasant weeks, when he heard, while at the house of the 
 Prince Esterhazy, of a serious accident to his Roman ateliers 
 The ntjws was reported in the Diario di Roma." A letter 
 from tus pupil Freund,. received nearly at the same time, gave 
 him the particulars. The floor of one of the ateliers in the 
 Palace Barberini had given wa}^, and two marble statues, 
 "The \oung Shepherd" and "Love," had fallen with it. 
 The head of the shepherd, the arm which held the crook, 
 f^ndi the bars of the dog, were broken off. " Love" had lost 
 its wings find right leg. The plaster of " Ganymede with 
 the Eagle ' was broken in pieces. Thanks to the efforts of 
 Tenerani ctud Freund, the other statues were rescued from 
 the ruins almost uninjured. B}^ a very lucky chance, the 
 statue of " Adonis," placed that very morning near the wall, 
 escaped unhurt. 
 
 Thorvaldsen had intended to go to Munich ; but this bad 
 Pi ws decided him to return immediately to Rome, where he 
 ar rived Dec. 16, 1820. 
 
# 
 
VULCAN FOKGING ARROWS FOR CUPID. 
 
LIFE OF THOBVALBSEN. 
 
 85 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 The Prince Royal of Denmark. — Prince Louis of Bavaria. — *' Christ 
 and the Apostles." — The " Preaching of St. John the Baptist." 
 — Consalvi. — Pius VII. — Cabals against Thorvaldsen. — Leo 
 XII. — Thorvaldsen President of the Academy of St. Luke. 
 
 A FEW days after Thorvaldsen' s return 
 to Rome, a grand banquet was given in 
 his honor at the Trattoria Fiano, Dec. 
 28, 1820. More than one hundred and 
 fifty artists were present. The ga3'ety 
 was at its height, when Christian, prince 
 royal of Denmark, presented himself and 
 asked permission to join the party. He 
 took a seat next to the sculptor, and his 
 presence far from being a restraint upon 
 the assembl}' only increased the hilarit}" ; 
 while his toast to cisalpine and trans- 
 alpine art excited to the highest point 
 the enthusiasm of the guests, who were 
 chiefl3' Germans. 
 
 Subsequently the Prince and Princess 
 of Denmark visited the ateliers of the 
 artist, who constituted himself their 
 cicerone, and introduced them to the 
 antiquities of Rome. He also modelled 
 their busts. 
 
 For a long time Thorvaldsen had been in constant cor- 
 respondence with Prince Louis of Bavaria ; but from the year 
 
86 
 
 LIFE OF THOEVALDSEN. 
 
 1821. when the prince and the artist met in Rome, relations 
 of the strictest intimacy, notwithstanding the difference of 
 rank, were established between them. The Prince of Bavaria 
 who, in 1825, succeeded to the throne, is one of the most 
 original and interesting characters of this centur}'. When 
 still 3^oung, he was enamoured, like all Europe at that time, 
 with military glory, and took part in the campaign of 1809 
 against Austria. But the pupil of the universities of Land- 
 shut and Gottingen soon abandoned the career of arms to 
 give himself wholly to an irresistible love of the arts. Here- 
 after he kept aloof from public affairs, and devoted himself 
 with all the enthusiasm of his nature to pursuits no less 
 worthy of a fine intellect. To enrich Bavaria with splendid 
 museums, and to make Munich one of the great artistic cities 
 of the world, was the one earnest desire of his heart. Com- 
 pared with the magnitude of his projects, his means, unfor- 
 tunatel}', were limited. He was not, however, discouraged 
 by this difficulty. Imposing upon himself a strict econom}^, 
 with the money thus saved he bought up the choicest works 
 he could find either in painting or sculpture. The Greek and 
 Roman antiquities which zealous explorers were then actively 
 engaged in excavating from the soil of Greece and Italy were 
 the special objects of his passion, and his agents did their 
 best to secure them for him. 
 
 Thus little b}^ little was formed that magnificent museum 
 of sculpture called the Glyptothek. When he became king, 
 he enriched his capital with fine monuments, mostly in the 
 Greek style. We also owe to him a picture gallery, the new 
 Pinacothek, at Munich ; also the Walhalla, a sort of temple 
 and museum, at Ratisbon. The prince, moreover, cultivated 
 the Muses : his writings in prose and verse indicate, in a very 
 marked degree, the peculiarities of his character.^ 
 
 1 Though very popular at first, the King of Bavaria lost favor with the nation on 
 account of the undue influence which from 1830 he allowed the clergy to exert. Ilis 
 liaison with the beautiful Lola Montes is well known. Though this favorite of the 
 
LIFE OF THORVALDSEN. 
 
 87 
 
 In 1821, Thorvaldsen modelled the bust of the prince, who 
 promised him his portrait in exchange. On the eve of his 
 royal friend's departnre, the scnlptor gave a grand banquet 
 in his honor at the Signora Buti's, to v^diich all the artists in 
 Rome were invited. How much the prince enjo3'ed the fete 
 is seen b}^ the letter he wrote immediatel}' after his return to 
 Munich. 
 
 NYxMphenbourg, near Munich, May 15, 1821. 
 Herr Counsellor of State, — 
 
 No, not that. Dear, good, and great Thorvaldsen ! Kings are 
 indeed powerless to bestow what is signified by tliat name. Long 
 after military glory — glory stained with blood — has ceased its 
 din, the name of the great artist still lives, pure, sublime, blessed of 
 Heaven, and his immortal works forever engender others. My last 
 hours in Rome were made pleasant by the banquet kindly given me 
 by my excellent Thorvaldsen. But to say good-by was all the more 
 painful. 
 
 Say many kind things from me to the worthy family Buti and to 
 Nano. Do not forget to remember me to the Signora Giromctti, a 
 true, very true Roman woman ; nor to the amiable Moretta.' 
 
 I made the journey in ten days, so Rome does not seem so far of£. 
 I am at home again, and you, beloved and excellent men, are still 
 near my heart. I leave to-morrow for Wurzbourg. My portrait, 
 therefore, may not reach Rome before next winter. I prefer that 
 you should get it later, rather than in a bad condition, you who have 
 represented me in living marble. Adieu, till we meet again. 
 
 Louis, Prince Royal, who sets great store by his Thorvaldsen. 
 
 old king professed liberal principles, her interference in affairs of state was the cause 
 of fresh complications, and she was obliged to leave Bavaria, in February, 1848. 
 The month following (March 20), the king was forced to abdicate in favor of his 
 eldest son, Maximilian II. 
 
 King Louis, who lived to be an octogenarian, continued to the last to interest him- 
 self in the fine arts, and to patronize artists. He also regained all his old popularity, 
 the nation remembering only the wise administration of the finances during his 
 reign ; nor was it forgotten that Bavaria owed to him the fine canal that unites the 
 Danube to the Maine, and bears his name " Ludwigskanal " The first railroad in 
 Germany — from Nuremburg to Furth — Is also one of his enterprises. 
 
 1 The letter of the prince is in German, excepting this sentence : Dite della raia 
 parte molte belle cose alia brava famiglia Buti ed ad Nano, e non dimenticatemi presso 
 la vera, la verissima Romana, la Signora Girometti, neppure presso Tamabile Mo- 
 retta." Even in Gemnan, King Louis had a style peculiarly his own, which is often 
 as odd as it is original. 
 
88 
 
 LIFE OF THOBYALDSEN. 
 
 On the 16th of October, 1822, the prince writes again : — 
 
 Dear, well-beloved, and great Thorvaldsen, — I am very happy to * 
 hear that my painted portrait pleases you. When you look at it, 
 remember that it represents a man who, separated from you by the ' 
 Alps and the Apennines, is still always near you in thought. 
 
 In conclusion, he says : — 
 
 I am v<.'ry anxious that the " Ilioneus Niobides " should be restored 
 by you, and that the "Adonis" (the marble) should be finished by 
 your master-hand. Be kind enough, also, not to forget the gospel 
 bas-reliefs;^ and you wiU infinitely oblige him who has for you the 
 greatest esteem and deepest aflTection. 
 
 These intimacies with ro3^al personages made no change 
 in the character of Thorvaldsen. Since his return to Rome 
 he had been constantly occupied ; for he had not only to 
 execute important, works for his own countrj^, but others of 
 no less importance to Germany. The monuments to Ponia- 
 towski, Prince Potocki, Field-Marshal Schwarzenberg (a 
 sketch only was made of the latter), and to Copernicus, re- 
 quired an immense deal of room, and obliged him to provide 
 himself with new ateliers. He had, however, a perfect pha- 
 lanx of pupils and workmen, who in their several capacities 
 rendered him important services. ^ It is not surprising that 
 he needed so many auxiliaries, when we consider that the 
 master was working at the same time on the " Christ," the 
 Twelve Apostles," the " Preaching of St. John the Baptist," 
 
 1 These bas-reliefs must be those which the artist undertook to model in 1817, and 
 which represent the " Annnnciation of the Virgin " and the Holy Women at the 
 Sepulchre." The prince wanted the marbles for a church he proposed to erect in 
 Maui eh . 
 
 2 Herr Thiele gives the list of those who assisted him at this time, some of whom 
 became themselves famous artists : Amadeo, Babone, Bardi, the brothers Bieuaime' 
 Bogazzi, CaU, Carlesi, De Angelis, Ercole the Hungarian, Ferenczy, Freund, Ga-Jti, 
 Gahi, Hermann (Joseph), Hofer, Kauffmann, Kessels, Landini, Launitz, Leeb, Livi, 
 Marchetti, Mareschalchi, Michelangelo, Moglia, Moise, Monti, Orlowski, Paccetti, 
 Pettrich, Raggi, Restaldi, Santi, Schneider, Stephan the Hungarian, Tacca.Tanzi, the 
 brothers Tenerani, Vacca, Wolff. Here we have already a respectable phalanx, 
 though some "ames may be forgotten in the list. 
 
LIFE OF THOBVALDSEK. 
 
 89 
 
 and all those grand compositions which ornament to-da}^ the 
 Frue Kirke at Copenhagen. 
 
 Each day brought also a new order, sometimes it was a 
 bust, sometimes the reproduction of a former work. Nor 
 must we forget his spontaneous efforts, his artistic fantasies, 
 the fruit of a fertile imagination. 
 
 One day he received a note from the Baroness Reden, wife 
 of the Hanoverian minister at Rome. " The little Albanese," 
 she writes, " whom I spoke to 3'ou about at the Prince of 
 Denmark's, has just come : she will be here with me until 
 four o'clock. If 3'ou would like to see her, I shall be de- 
 lighted to introduce her to you." 
 
 This little Albanese was a remarkably beautiful child about \. 
 thirteen years old, whom the Secretary of the Hanoverian 
 Legation had seen while passing on horseback through one 
 of the streets of Albano. The young girl, who belonged to 
 a poor family and was named Vittoria Cardoni, became 
 famous among the artists. All the painters and sculptors 
 endeavored to reproduce a beaut}' at once so pure, so per- 
 fect, and so strange ; but, as all confessed, none of them fully 
 succeeded, and Thorvaldsen no better than the rest. He, 
 however, made use of the prett}^ bust he modelled from her 
 for one of the female figures in the " Preaching of St. John." 
 It is the woman seated and holding a child. 
 
 After leaving Copenhagen, Thorvaldsen seems to have 
 devoted much thought to his grand religious works. In an 
 old pocket-book which he had with him on his journe}^, a 
 number of sketches have been found of the apostles or other 
 biblical figures, which were either passing fancies of his own, 
 or hints gathered from works he had seen in his travels. On 
 reaching Rome, he went seriously to work and made a large 
 number of drawings. As early as 1821 he began his sketches 
 in cla}'. As soon as a few of these were ready, he called 
 in his pupils to his aid. His custom was to give the clay 
 sketch to a pupil, with precise directions respecting the 
 
90 
 
 LIFE OF THOBVALDSEN. 
 
 living model who was to sit for it, and the casting of 
 the draper}^ ; the master, while the work was in progress, 
 correcting and modifj-ing and sometimes beginning it again. 
 It was only by this means that he was enabled to carry on 
 with such rapidit}" and simultaneousl}' so large a number of 
 works. 
 
 The " Saint Paul" was intrusted to a young artist who did 
 not prove equal to the task, and the master himself modelled 
 it anew. To Bienaime, the elder, was given the study of 
 " Saint Peter," and he succeeded better in bringing his 
 sketch to the desired point. These two apostles are incon- 
 testabl}^ ver}^ superior to the other ten. 
 
 When after many trials Thorvaldsen had full}- decided 
 upon the attitude he would give his " Christ," he admitted 
 Tenerani to a certain participation in the work, but only to 
 study the details of the figure. Subsequently, when engaged 
 himself upon the large clay model, he was attacked with 
 lumbago caused by the dampness of the atelier, and he 
 therefore again put the figure temporarily into the hands 
 of Tenerani. Though forced to give up a work which re- 
 quired the free use of his limbs, he could not remain inactive ; 
 and he employed his leisure in fulfilling a commission of the 
 Milan Academy of Fine Arts for a monument to Appiani, 
 representing the Genius of Art singing the praises of the 
 painter, while the Graces deplore his death. 
 
 As soon as Thorvaldsen had recovered from his attack, he 
 again took into his own hands the statute of " Christ," finish- 
 ing the clay with care. Meanwhile the " Apostles " and the 
 "Preaching of St. John" were slowl}^ advancing under the 
 hands of his pupils,^ so that in 1822 this complex work had 
 
 1 Bienaim^, the younger, Tenerani, the younger, and Marchetti, were intrusted 
 with '-Saint Matthew," " Saint Thomas," and " t^aint James." The other apostles 
 were studied, " Saint Philip," hy P.-ittrich ; Saint James," by Bienaim(5, the younger; 
 "Saint Simon," by Emile Wolff; "Saint Bartholomew," by Carlesi ; "Saint An- 
 drew," by Joseph Hermann. As to the " Saint John," executed by Paccetti, it was 
 put aside, and begun again in 1824 by Marclietti. Paccctti's was modified subse- 
 
LIFE OF THORVALDSEN. 
 
 already made great progress, and a large portion of it been 
 put into plaster. 
 
 It had soon to undergo the bitter criticism of jealousy. 
 Tills did not seem, however to disturb the artist who, en- 
 couraged by the approbation of competent judges, wrote 
 to a friend : " My recent works of large dimensions, espe- 
 cially the models of the colossal statues of ' Christ,' and 
 the apostles ' Saint Peter' and ' Saint Paul,' have been for- 
 tunate in securing the approbation of all the connoisseurs in 
 this city." 
 
 Passing from one composition to another with remarkable 
 versatility, Thorvaldsen carried on at the same time his 
 works intended for Germany; going from his "Christ" 
 to the monument of Poniatowski, and from the " St. John" 
 to the statue of Prince Potocki, or the monument of Coper- 
 nicus. 
 
 In the summer of 1822 he found near his atelier a large 
 building extremel}' well lighted which had served as a stable 
 for the Palace Barberini. He quickl}^ converted it into what 
 he called his " grand atelier," because he immediately col- 
 lected and placed in it his models of large size. All the 
 figures in the "Preaching of St. John the Baptist" were 
 here set up, so that the effect of the composition as a whole 
 could now be estimated. In 1823, he composed his first 
 " Angel of Baptism." i 
 
 Thorvaldsen was now at the zenith of his fame : he had 
 not even a rival in Rome since Canova's death, in October, 
 1822. Six months afterward the arts were threatened with 
 another loss : an accident happened to the Danish sculptor 
 
 quently and used for Saint Thaddeus,'' in order to finish in haste the twelve apos- 
 tles when the artist was urged to send without delay all the plasters to Copenhagen, 
 because they wished to consecrate the new church. These plasters were sent from 
 Leghorn, January, 1828. 
 
 1 This work, which was not included in the contract, he intended to present to the 
 Frue Kirke ; hut Lord Lucan, having bespoken it in rrarble, Thorvaldsen soon after 
 made a new composition in which the angel is kneeling, and it is this which is now 
 in the church. 
 
92 
 
 LIFE OF THOBVALDSEN. 
 
 which might have cost him his life. Thorvaldsen, after hav- 
 ing supped as usual at the Signora Buti's, had returned to 
 his rooms accompanied b}' the son of this lady. The child 
 was very anxious to join with other bo^'s of his age in the 
 nois}^ demonstrations with which Easter is celebrated in 
 Rome, and Thorvaldsen had promised to lend him his pistols. 
 While the artist pulled the trigger of one to make sure it was 
 not loaded, the 3'oung Buti possessed himself of the other. 
 It went off and Thorvaldsen fell, wounded. The shock was 
 Adolent, but fortunateh' the wound was not serious. Two 
 fingers of the left hand were struck ; but the ball had spent 
 its force in passing through his clothing, and after encoun- 
 tering a rib, from which it glanced off, finalty flattened itself 
 against a button. Thorvaldsen was obliged to nurse him- 
 self a little, and wear his arm in a sling for a few da3's. His 
 friends could do no less than celebrate such a providential 
 escape. A grand fete was given upon the occasion, and 
 numerous felicitations in prose and verse were addressed to 
 the artist. 
 
 Thorvaldsen, whose intercourse with the great dignitaries 
 of the Roman Church had hitherto been very slight, had now 
 an opportunity to be presented by the Prince of Denmark to 
 the illustrious Cardinal Ercole Consalvi, the able adversar}^ 
 of Napoleon I., the negotiator of the Concordat, and upon 
 whom fell the chief burden of the quarrel between the Papacy 
 and the Empire. 
 
 The Romans professed a great veneration for Pius VII,, 
 and had almost as much for Consalvi, who deserved it no 
 less. As to the cardinal, he gave to the Holy Father the 
 respect and affection of a son ; and from the ya^v 1822 had 
 proposed to himself the erection of a monument to his mem- 
 ory, though the Pontiff at that time was still living. In the 
 will of Consalvi^ is this clause : — 
 
 » See the " Memoirs of Cardinal Consalvi," by J. Cr6tineau, Joly, vol. i., 2d od., 
 1866. H.Plon. 
 
LIFE OF THOBVALDSEN. 
 
 93 
 
 Deeming it unbecoming that so famous a pontifl* as Pius VII. 
 and one who has deserved so well of church and state, should not 
 have after his death (may God prolong his days) a tomb in the 
 basilica of St. Peter, which seems likely on account of the small 
 inheritance he will leave to his nephews, I, moved by my devotion 
 and attachment to his sacred person, inspired by the gratitude I owe 
 to him, as the first cardinal of his creation, and k»aded with benefits 
 through his sovereign goodness, have resolved to erect to him at my 
 own expense a mausoleum in the aforesaid basilica. To this end I 
 have endeavored, by retrenching my annual expenses, to set aside 
 the sum of twenty thousand Roman crowns. If I die before his 
 Holiness, as I hope to do, upon my heir and trustee will devolve the 
 duty of applying the above sum to the erection of this tomb ; the 
 execution of which shall be confided to the chisel of the celebrated 
 Marquis Canova, and failing him to the celebrated Chevalier Thor- 
 valdsen, and, if he cannot execute it, to one of the best sculptors 
 in Rome. The following inscription shall be engraved on this 
 tomb : — 
 
 Pio VII., Charamontio, C^senati, Pontifici Maximo. 
 Hercules, Cardinalis Consalvi Romanus. 
 Ab Illo Creatus. 
 
 The tomb shall have three statues : one on the urn, that of the 
 Pope himself; on the two sides, the virtues. Strength and Wisdom. 
 
 Signed, E. Cardinal Consalvi. 
 
 i;oME, Aug. 1, 1822. 
 
 Pius VII. preceded his faithful friend to the tomb, to the 
 profound grief of Consalvi, who now took steps to put into 
 execution the project recorded in his will ; but, as Canova 
 was dead, he sent for Thorvaldseu. This was in the month 
 of November, 1824. When the messenger came to notify 
 the artist, he was engaged upon one of his religious works, 
 the " Angel of Baptism." Surprised at the message, he 
 repaired to the palace inhabited by the cardinal, and upon 
 giving his name was received with respect and conducted to 
 Mis Eminence. 
 
 Thorvaldsen, who had the highest veneration for the pre- 
 
94 
 
 LIFE OF TUORVALDSEN. 
 
 late, so highly appreciated the honor done him by the offer 
 of the commission, that with his usual rashness he accepted 
 it in spite of the immense amount of work with which he 
 was already overwhelmed. In returning to his studio, he, so 
 habitually discreet and reserved, related with exultation to 
 the friends he met the extraordinary instance of good for- 
 tune, as he regarded it, which had befallen him. 
 
 In confiding to him, a Protestant, the erection of a monu- 
 ment in St. Peter's to the head of the Catholic Church, the 
 cardinal undoubtedly gave him a high proof of esteem. But 
 in default of Canova, the Catholic sculptor, Consalvi could 
 find no artist who could be preferred to Thorvaldsen. Such 
 is the interpretation we put on the terms of the will, which 
 assigns only a secondary place to the Danish sculptor. 
 
 This commission caused great surprise in Rome. Thor- 
 valdsen's enemies made it the occasion for new and violent 
 attacks. All went on well, however, while the cardinal 
 lived, and the artist had no reason to be disturbed b}' the 
 cabal. He accordingi}" set to work, following the precise 
 instructions given him, and from which it would have been 
 difficult to deviate. It was then the established rule, 
 founded on precedents, that a monument in honor of a 
 deceased pope should be composed of the portrait of the 
 pontiff and two allegorical figures. The form was of neces- 
 sity to be pyramidal, so that it might be placed in one of 
 those great niches designed for such works, in the interioi 
 of St. Peter's. 
 
 The first sketch, in clay, was made in January, 1824.^ 
 The Pope is seated : he has a palm-branch in his hand, while 
 two angels hold above his head a starry crown. This com- 
 position was not accepted, because these two attributes, the 
 
 1 The first two sketches found of this monument are hastily pencilled, the one o;i 
 the back of a letter dated Nov. 12, 1823, the second on another letter of 10th Deceni- 
 bcr (Thiele ) In the Museum of Copenhagen a great number of similar sketchc-s 
 are presei yed. 
 
LIFE OF THOBVALBSEN. 
 
 95 
 
 palm and crown, belong to saints ; and of course Pius VII., 
 who had just died, was not canonized. 
 
 On the 24tli of Januar}', 1824, at the age of sixt3^-seven. 
 Cardinal Consalvi died, universally mourned. He had long 
 before placed in the Monte di Pieta^ in Rome, the twenty 
 thousand crowns for the erection of the monument ; and, 
 thanks to this deposit, no difficulty could be made with the 
 artist concerning payment. But he was subjected to many 
 annoyances through envy and intolerance, and was far 
 from seeing the end of the vexations this affair was to cause 
 him. 
 
 Thorvaldsen made another sketch, in which the Pope is 
 represented as resigning all his pomp as sovereign and 
 pontiff. He has laid aside the tiara, and is seated, bowed 
 down under his sufferings. Though there was much pathos 
 in the composition, it did not agree with the received ideas 
 of the church, — it was not thus the Father of the Faithful 
 should be represented at the moment of his eartlil}- de- 
 liverance. He had therefore to compose still another 
 model. 
 
 While the artist was thus occupied, he also gave his atten- 
 tion to the bust of the Holy Father, having already studied 
 the face. He had several good pictures to refer to, and a 
 mask above all was very useful to him. Hardly had he be- 
 gun this part of his work, when the cardinal died. 
 
 The numerous friends of Consalvi desired to have a medal 
 struck in honor of the illustrious statesman. A committee 
 was formed, headed by the Duchess of Devonshire and thp 
 Hanoverian ambassador, Baron von Reden. The subscrip- 
 tion-list, filling rapidly up, reached so large an amount, that 
 after two medals had been struck off, one b}^ Girometti, the 
 
 1 This deposit was made a few days after his first interview with the sculptor. In 
 the official declaration made at the time, Consalvi states that the sum is deposited by 
 a person who is not named doubtless because he was averse to publicly parading^ 
 himself as the donor. But the recent publication of his will, the last clause of whicli 
 we have given, affords positive information on this point. 
 
LIFE OF THORVALDSEJ^. 
 
 other by Cerbara, there remained a surplus of seven hundred 
 and sixty-four crowns. ^ It was therefore decided to erect a 
 monument in honor of the cardinal, and Thorvaldsen was 
 sent for. The artist, glad of the opportunit}^ to show his 
 respect, immediately accepted the commission. 
 
 The monument was to be placed in the Pantheon, where 
 the heart of the cardinal was deposited. With the aid of 
 a bust belonging to Signor Torlonia, of a portrait painted by 
 Lawrence, and the medal of Girometti, Thorvaldsen modelled 
 the bust ; and, being assisted by the suggestions of a person 
 who had lived long and familiarly with the cardinal, he pro- 
 duced a faithful portrait as well as a fine work of art.^ 
 
 The erection of the monument was delaj^ed by unforeseen 
 obstacles : to remove them. Baron von R6den had recourse 
 to the new Pope, and it was not without difficulty that the 
 mausoleum was inaugurated the 17th September, 1824. 
 
 As the sarcophagus bore only a simple inscription, the 
 artist thought the monument incomplete, and took upon him- 
 self the expense of a supplementary bas-relief. One of the 
 most important services rendered by the cardinal to the 
 Papacy was beyond dispute the recovery, by his able nego- 
 tiations at the Vienna Congress, of the provinces lost to 
 the Holy See by the treaty of Tolentino in 1799. In Thor- 
 valdsen's composition these provinces are symbolized b}' 
 six female figures who, presented to Pius VII. by Consalvi, 
 kneel to the Holy Father while he gives them his benedic- 
 tion.^ 
 
 1 Thiele. 
 
 2 The committee gave Thorvaldsen for his marble the sum of four hundred and 
 forty crowns, and the remaining three hundred and twenty-four crowns were em- 
 ployed in the purchase of the sarcophagus. 
 
 3 Shortly after Thorvaldsen had made the committee a present of this bas-relief, 
 he in turn received, through Baron von Reden its president, a silver cup, ornamented 
 with medallions. It bore the effigy of the cardinal, with the following inscription 
 encircled by vine-leaves : " Gli Amici del Defunto Card. Consalvi all' Amico A. 
 Thorvaldsen. Roma. MDCCCXXV." The artist subsequently gave this cup to 
 his daughter. (Thiele.) 
 
LIFE OF THOBVALBSEN, 
 
 97 
 
 The monument to Consalvi was completed long before tliat 
 of Pies VII., which required a great deal more labor and 
 study. The latter was not, however, neglected ; and a third 
 sketch, which satisfied both the artist and the persons ap- 
 pointed to carry out the wishes of the deceased cardinal, 
 was finished by the end of the j^ear 1824. It represented the 
 Pope clothed in his sacerdotal robes and seated in his pontifi- 
 cal chair ; his heavy cope falls over his left arm, his right 
 hand is raised in the act of benediction. 
 
 The sketch having been accepted, Thorvaldsen set to work 
 to finish the monument, taking care meanwhile to maintain 
 a prudent reserve with regard to it.^ The statue of the Pope 
 himself was completed in 1825 ; and, becoming directly the 
 subject of discussion in Rome, occasion was given to the 
 envious to attack it as the work of a heretic. This hostility^ 
 however, had no other effect upon Thorvaldsen than to 
 make him devote himself with all the more ardor to the 
 completion of his task. The other two statues, " Strength" 
 and "Wisdom," were already designed: Thorvaldsen put 
 them at once into the hands of the pupils who were to model 
 from them the first sketches in relief. " Little do I care for 
 these cabals," he used to say to his friends : "I have got the 
 commission for the monument, and I shall finish it, I promise 
 you." 
 
 At the ver}^ time while the spirit of intolerance was busy 
 exciting these miserable jealousies, the artist, by a singular 
 coincidence, was solicited, in behalf of the Convent of the 
 Capuchins, to make an ornamented cross with inscriptions, 
 intended for the Piazza dei Qappuccini adjoining the Piazza 
 Barberini. It was scarcel}^ a work worth}^ of Thorvaldsen ; 
 
 1 Bienaim6 was the pupil selected to make from it a colossal model. The bust had 
 already been fiaished by Thorvaldsen, who had been long at work upon it. The 
 head was to be covered with the tiara, and that the drapery might be easier modelled 
 the pontifical robes were intrusted to the artist. In consequence, no visitors were, 
 <luriug that time, admitted to the atelier. 
 7 
 
98 
 
 LIFE OF THOBVALBSEN. 
 
 but, comprehending the advantage that might accrue to him 
 from having such a commission, he accepted it willingly, and 
 tried so hard to satisfy the monks that the cross was soon 
 erected (April 20, 1825). He would receive no compensa- 
 tion for it, a piece of generosity which very much impressed 
 the Capuchins. We may, however, be permitted to suspect 
 that they had shrewdly anticipated such a result, when apply- 
 ing to a heretic artist. However this maj^ be, the sculptor's 
 liberality is recorded on the paper containing the estimate of 
 the cost, where we read: "Tutto e conchiuso ! S. Fran- 
 cesco e un gran Santo ! Saremo quattro benefattori. II 
 Cavaliere Thorvaldsen, benefattore, s' incarica dell' esecu- 
 zione,'' etc 
 
 Thus the artist was enabled to refute with a new fact ^ the 
 argument which had been used against him, that a Protes- 
 tant could not properly be intrusted with the execution of a 
 work having a Catholic destination. To reph^ in this man- 
 ner was better than any argument. 
 
 Meanwhile the mausoleum of Pius Yll. was not finished, 
 and even those who defended Thorvaldsen though he did 
 not pay sufficient attention to it. The truth was that the 
 artist, overwhelmed with the vast amount of work he had on 
 hand, could not devote himself exclusivel}^ to any one sub- 
 ject. His enemies took advantage of this delay, to accuse 
 him of a want of respect to the memory of the Holy Father. 
 They wrote shameful anonymous letters ,2 and the cabal be- 
 came so powerful, that it was for a moment doubtful whether 
 the monument would be erected in St. Peter's. Two unex- 
 pected circumstances, however, foiled these hostile attempts. 
 
 Canova, who was President of the Academ}^ of St. Luke at 
 the time of his death, was succeeded in this honorable post 
 by the historical painter Camuccini. But after three 3^ears, 
 according to the regulations of the Academy, the painter was 
 
 1 The monument of Consalvi had heen inaugurated the preceding year. 
 * See Thiele, vol. ii. chap.xii. 
 
LIFE OF THOBVALDSEN. 
 
 99 
 
 to be replaced by a sculptor. Thorvaldsen's superiority made ' 
 him the proper person to fill the presidential chair ; and his 
 enemies, who had no strong candidate to oppose to him, 
 were in a complete quandary. His friends loudly declared 
 that it would be a disgrace to the Academy to nominate any 
 one but him, while his opponents replied that it would be a 
 positive scandal to invest with such functions an artist who 
 was not a Catholic. But, whatever the result, the contro- 
 versy could only redound to the honor of the sculptor ; for, 
 if he were rejected, it would only be for reasons which had 
 nothing to do with art : his merit was not called in question. 
 Thorvaldsen made merry with his friends over the embar- 
 Tassment of the party in opposition. That the majority was 
 in his favor was not doubtful, but there was another difficulty 
 in the case, which even his partisans looked upon as serious. 
 The President of the Academ}^ in the discharge of his du- 
 ties was, on certain solemn occasions, obliged to be present 
 in his official character at the ceremonies of the Church ; 
 and the question now arose, whether the pontifical govern- 
 ment would be pleased that a Protestant artist should, in 
 such cases, be called upon to represent the Academ}'. It 
 was thought prudent to submit the matter to the Holy 
 Father. "Is there any doubt that he is the greatest sculp- 
 tor we have now in Rome? " asked Leo XII. " The fact is 
 incontestable," was the repl}^ " Then there can be no hesi- 
 tation, and he must be made president. Only there are 
 times when he will see the propriety of being indisposed." 
 The words of the Sovereign Pontiff removed all scruples. 
 Dec. 16, 1825, Thorvaldsen was elected President of the 
 Academy of St. Luke by a majority of votes, for the usual 
 term of three years. The decoration ^ro merito belonging to 
 this title was sent to him. 
 
 The liberal decision of Leo XII. argued well for tho 
 erection of the monument of Pius VII. ; but the Sovereign 
 Pontiff went still further. Expressing a desire to see the 
 
lOO 
 
 LIFE OF THOEVALDSEN. 
 
 mausoleum of his predecessor, he signified his intention 
 of going in person to the atelier of the president of the 
 Academy. In one way this was a token of official approba- 
 tion The Holy Father came, and pausing, so it is said, by 
 accident before the bas-relief of the " Ages of Love," highly 
 appreciated the ingenious delicacy of that profane compo- 
 sition. 
 
 This bas-relief was modelled during the Holy Week of 
 1824. For several da3^s, according to custom, the ateliers 
 were all closed ; and the artist profited by the seclusion to 
 iiompose this charming creation, as a rest to his mind after 
 Itis great works. He had first intended the composition to 
 decorate a vase for which he had long been keeping a large 
 block of Carrara marble. The subject was suggested to him 
 by the famous picture found at Stabise, — "The Sale of 
 Loves " In Thorvaldsen's bas-relief, Psyche plays the part 
 of saleswoman. She distributes the loves according to the 
 ages of the customers. This graceful composition had an 
 immense success, and was reproduced so many times that 
 the sculptor had not alwaj's the leisure to superintend care- 
 full}^ enough the difl^'erent copies. ^ 
 
 Notwithstanding the visit of Leo XII., the monument of 
 Pius VII. remained still a long time in hand before it was 
 finished. Difficulties of another kind also retarded its erec- 
 tion. In November, 1830, the artist was sent for to make a 
 careful examination of the place designed for it in St. Peter's ; 
 when, not having been aware that the Pontiflf was to be buried 
 in the mausoleum, he found he had made a wrong estimate 
 of the length required,'^ — a mistake which greatly afl*ected 
 the general aspect of the monument. Nor was this all. The 
 height of th(. recess having been incorrectly measured, the 
 
 1 Later, he was himself astonished at the great difference he found between one of 
 the copies and the original. The first marble, which is a simple bas-relief, was exe- 
 cuted for Mr. Labouchere. This Englishman was then at Rome urging Thorvaldsen 
 to finish the statue of " Venus which he had ordered, 
 
 2 It was necessary to make the length correspond to that of the coflin. 
 
LIFE OF TIIOIiVALDSEN. 
 
 lOI 
 
 whole system of proportions, which was made dependent 
 upon the principal figure, was found to be wrong. In the 
 endeavor to restore the general equilibrium of the monument, 
 two new figures were added, — two angels placed at the right 
 and left of the Pontiff.i 
 
 It required all the skill of the artist to surmount these 
 difficulties ; but at last, after many vexatious delays and im- 
 pediments, the monument of Pius VII. was finally erected 
 in the Church of St. Peter at Rome, in 1831, seven j^ears 
 after the commission for it had been given b}' Cardinal 
 Consalvi. 
 
 ' Thorvaldsen, who was determined not to leave the monument inct mplete, mod- 
 elled these angels with incredible rapidity, putting the plasters for the time heing in 
 place of the marbles, which were finished subsequently. (Thiele.) 
 
HORSEMAN, FROM THE FRIEZE, " THE TRIUMPH OF ALEXANDER." 
 
LIFE OF THOBVALDSEN. 
 
 103 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 The Monument to Appiani. — Criticisms upon it. — The Monuments 
 to Prince Schwarzenberg and to the Duke of Leuchtenberg. — 
 The King of Bavaria in Rome. — The Grand Duchess Helena. — 
 Maria Louisa. — Bust of Napoleon. — Medals stolen from Thor- 
 valdsen. — Journey to Munich. — Bartolini. 
 
 cretl compositions for Copenhagen and the large sepulchral 
 monuments for Germany. 
 
 We have already referred to a monument in memory of 
 Appiani, inaugurated at Milan. In August, 1826, the com- 
 mittee sent a letter of warm thanks to the sculptor, accom- 
 panied b}^ two copies of the commemorative medal struck off 
 at the time. Notwithstanding this official approbation, the 
 
 The history 
 of the mauso- 
 leum of Pius 
 VII. has 
 
 GANYMEDE. 
 
 obliged us to 
 anticipate a 
 little : we now 
 return, there- 
 fore, to the pe- 
 riod at which 
 Thorval d s e n 
 was zealously 
 working upon 
 his grand sa- 
 
I04 
 
 LIFE OF THOBVALBSEN. 
 
 work was very soon subjected to severe criticisms ; and so 
 ill-natured an article appeared in the " Estensore di Milano" 
 of the 3d of September, that the artist's friends hastened to 
 write complimentary letters to him on the subject Among 
 the expression of sympathy called forth b}^ this occasion, 
 one highly appreciated by Thorvaldsen himself deserves 
 special mention. It was from the bootmaker Anselmo 
 Ronghetti. This man, who was a ver}- skilful workman, 
 had a great passion for the art of sculpture. Thorvaldsen 
 had known him since the year 1819, and held him in high 
 esteem, as he did every artisan who excelled in his trade : he 
 often spoke of him and looked upon him as a friend. He 
 had left casts of his feet with him, and the bootmaker was 
 in the habit of sending him from time to time some new 
 masterpiece of his workmanship. He also wrote to him 
 twice or thrice a year ; and did not fail to do so on the 
 occasion of the Appiani monument, forwarding at the same 
 time a pair of boots, of a new style called ronghettines, 
 which the artist received with great pleasure. His acknowl- 
 edgment of the present Ronghetti had framed, and hung it 
 up in his shop, where he had also placed the bust of Lord 
 Byron given to him by the sculptor. Opposite was a work 
 by Marchetti.i 
 
 Among tne enthusiastic admirers of Thorvaldsen in Rome 
 was a very celebrated improvisatrice named Rosa Taddei. 
 It is well known how fond the Italians are of these Academie 
 
 ^ Ronghetti, as his letters show, was very tenacious of his personal dignity. Like 
 most Italians, he was also very sharp and quick-witted. One day a dandy from 
 Paris, who was under the necessity of getting a pair of boots in Milan, came to the 
 ehop and was imprudent enough to express openly his regret at being reduced to 
 such an extremity. The bootmaker flushed up to the roots of his hair with anger, 
 but, concealing his rage at this blow to his vanity, said meekly, that, lest he might 
 not succeed upon a first trial, he would only make one boot, which would serve as a 
 guide for any alterations that might be required It proved to be a marvel of its kind, 
 and so delighted the dandy that he hastened to the shop to express his satisfaction. 
 
 Monsieur can have the mate made in Paris," was the disdainful rejoinder of the 
 bootmaker, who thus had his revenge. Thorvaldsen was fond of teUing this anec- 
 dote so characteristic of Ronghetti. 
 
LIFE OF THORVALDSEN. 
 
 105 
 
 di poesia, in which are exercised the talents of fluent pro- 
 fessional orators, de omni re scibili et quibusdam aliis. Thor- 
 valdsen also- had a taste for these improvisations ; and Rosa 
 Taddei, having one evening begged him to be present at the 
 performance, drew with much formality from the urn, as a 
 subject for improvisation, " The Progress of Sculpture." The 
 artist became, as it were, a mark for the eloquence of this 
 woman. All went well until the moment she gave him, 
 through inadvertence, the name of Son of God {un figlio di 
 Dio) ; when the uproar was great among the scandalized 
 audience. The feminine orator had need of all her pres- 
 ence of mind to retrieve this false step. She, however, 
 succeeded and to the general satisfaction finished her 
 grandiloquent discourse with these words : " If it is in 
 Denmark that Thorvaldsen was born into life, it is in Italy 
 that he was born to art ! " — a platitude which had immense 
 success. 
 
 While Thorvaldsen was occupied with his great sacred 
 compositions, his German works required also constant at- 
 tention. 
 
 The monument in honor of Prince von Schwarzenberg was 
 never executed, nevertheless the studies it occasioned pro- 
 duced an interesting work; viz., a great lion intended to 
 be placed in front of the pedestal of the statue. When he 
 made the " Lion of Lucerne," the artist had not a living 
 model : for this new composition he was more fortunate, 
 as there was in Rome at this time in a menagerie a large 
 and very beautiful lion, which the artist went often to 
 study. 1 
 
 As to the monument of the Duke of Leuchtenberg (Prince 
 Eugene de Beauharnais) , difficulties of every kind long de- 
 layed its completion. The duchess, 2 his window, had deputed 
 
 1 The plaster model was finished in 1825. Later it was cut in marble. This mar- 
 ble, the only one in existence, is in the Museum of Copenhagen, 
 
 2 The duchess was sister of King Louis, of Bavaria. 
 
ic6 
 
 LIFE OF THORVALDSFX. 
 
 Herr Leon von Klenze, the architect-in-chief of the King of 
 Bavaria, to design the mausoleum she proposed to erect to 
 the memory of her husband in the Church of St. Michael, at 
 Munich. The architect not only made a general plan of the 
 monument, but also a drawing for the group of statuary, and 
 with the approbation of the duchess sent it to Thorvaldsen, 
 April 24, 1824 
 
 Though it was not very agreeable to the artist to accept 
 a plan so precisely traced out, he willingly undertook to 
 execute a monument to the memory of a prince who, by the 
 nobility and integrity of his character, is one of the finest 
 types of honor history has bequeathed to us. 
 
 The sculptor agreed to execute the principal figure, while 
 the rest of the work was intrusted to Tenerani ; but he re- 
 quested at the same time some modification of the plans of 
 Herr von Klenze. ^ After a tedious correspondence, the two 
 seemed at last to come to an understanding ; but as a long 
 time elapsed without the artist's giving an}^ information 
 about his work, or answering the most urgent letters, it was 
 concluded that he was wholly neglecting it. 
 
 Prince Louis, now King of Bavaria, had occasion to write 
 at this epoch to Thorvaldsen. He recommended to him a 
 young artist of Munich, named Schwanthaler, who has since 
 acquired a high reputation.^ In a postscript he added : "I 
 beg as a favor that you will pay attention to the monument 
 of my late brother-in-law Kind regard to the good Buti. 
 Mille saluti a loro, anche al bravo Tenerani belle cose della 
 parte mia." 
 
 These entreaties could not induce Thorvaldsen to put 
 
 1 There is reason to think that everything would have heen easily arranged be- 
 tween the architect and sculptor, had not a third person been ordered by the duchesa 
 to see Thorvaldsen in Rome. Neither Herr von Klenze nor the artist was pleased 
 with this interference, preferring to settle their aftairs without intervention. Hence 
 resulted misunderstandings and delays. See Thiele. 
 
 2 The prince greatly desired that Schwanthaler should study under the master 
 and. "in order that he might really be his pupil." that he should enter his atelier i*- 
 that capacity. The colossal statue of B.avaria is by this artist. 
 
LIFE OF THORVALBSEN. 
 
 107 
 
 aside the statue of Poniatowski upon which he was then en- 
 gaged. Nevertheless, while waiting for the master to take 
 in hand the principal figure, for which a mask of the Duke 
 of Leuchtenberg had been sent to him, Tenerani was busy 
 upon the other parts of the work. But the duchess, who had 
 received no information concerning it, at last wrote herself 
 the 26th December, 1826 : " At the end of nearly three 
 3"ears, during which you have wholly neglected the mauso- 
 leum, I am convinced that it is impossible for you. to fulfil 
 the stipulations of the contract. I therefore renounce, with 
 deep regret, the idea of seeing the monument erected by your 
 hand." 
 
 In spite, however, of the silence he had maintained, the 
 artist himself had at this very time begun to work upon 
 the principal figure, and proceeded so rapidly with it that the 
 completion of the work now only depended upon Tenerani. 
 This favorite pupil had gone awa}^ upon a journe3^l Thor- 
 valdsen, though he had the greatest regard for him, became 
 impatient at his absence and invaded his atelier. Once 
 there, he could not refrain from putting his hand to the work, 
 which he soon finished. 
 
 Tenerani was then an independent artist, working in his 
 own atelier. Upon his return, he manifested much dissat- 
 isfaction at this infringement of his rights ; and, some 
 evil-disposed people encouraging this feeling, Thorvald- 
 sen received 2 a summons to choose a referee. A law-suit 
 soon followed, which lasted almost two years, and was 
 finally settled before the Roman tribunals by a judicial ver- 
 
 1 In September, 1827, the artist sent word that he would be glad to receive the 
 second of the stipulated payments. The duchess's agent in Rome wrote at once to 
 Munich, where the good news excited great surprise, and at the same time consider- 
 able anxiety ; for Thorvaldsen had kept so quiet while at work upon it that there 
 was reason to fear he had deviated from the plan agreed upon. The duchess wrote 
 once more; but it is doubiful whether it were not now too late to follow her in- 
 stnictions. (Thiele.) 
 
 2 Nov. 18, 1827. 
 
io8 
 
 LIFE OF THOEVALDSEN. 
 
 did A By this time the monument of the Duke of Leuchten- 
 berg had arrived in Munich, whither the sculptor went 
 shortly afterward to superintend its erection. 
 
 Works executed to order, which restrict the artist to a 
 plan traced out beforehand, are rarely undertaken with much 
 enthusiasm, whatever interest ma}^ be attached to the sub- 
 jects. Whenever Thorvaldsen felt himself less hampered by 
 his engagements, he hastened to return to works of his own 
 choosing, finding in them a relaxation for his mind. Thus 
 in 1828 he began a series of bas-reliefs, known as the " Tri- 
 umphs of Love," which represent the god conquering the 
 four elements, earth, air, fire, and water. These composi- 
 tions, which have been often repeated in marble, form a very 
 charming series. 
 
 The violent attacks called forth by the Appiani monument 
 did not prevent the City of Pisa from applying to Thorvald- 
 sen to erect a mausoleum in the Campo Santo to the memory 
 of Andrea Vacca Berlinghieri, a celebrated oculist of that 
 city, who had recentl}^ died. 
 
 As soon as the news got abroad, and even before Thorvald- 
 sen had received the commission, the jealousy of the Italian 
 sculptors broke out afresh, and with greater violence. Posi- 
 tive threats were now resorted to, and he was summarily 
 commanded to renounce the work in favor of some native 
 artist. But he was not to be intimidated hy such means ; 
 and when the commission was officially offered to him, 
 he made all the more haste to accept it. A letter from 
 one of his friends, the Chevalier Antonio Piccolomini Bel- 
 larti, of Sienna, dated March 6, 1826, had alread}^ informed 
 him of the success of the subscription set on foot to defray 
 the cost of the monument. It was agreed that the artist 
 should take for the subject of his bas-relief " Tobit restoring 
 
 1 The adjustment is dated Oct. 29, 1823. Thorvaldsen paid the same day four 
 thousand crowns to Tenerani as a discharge in full of all claims. (Thiele.) 
 
LIFE OF TIIOBVALDSEN. 
 
 109 
 
 his Father's Sight."i This was rapicllj^ modelled,^ while the 
 medallion was copied from a portrait painted b}^ the ocu- 
 list's widow. . 
 
 The erection of this mausoleum gave rise to a very bitter 
 controversy in the pett}" journals of Tuscan}', but Thorvald- 
 sen cared little for their ill-natured criticisms. His greatest 
 annoyances arose from his position as President of the Acad- 
 emy of St. Luke. Every day the jealousy of which he was 
 the obj(:ct brought upon him some new vexation ; and it was 
 with joy that he hailed. the approach of the 3'ear 1828, when, 
 according to the rules, he was to lay aside an office in the 
 performance of whose duties he had never, it must be con- 
 fessed, taken a zealous pride. 
 
 It was therefore with unmixed satisfaction that he deliv- 
 ered his farewell address at the annual meeting on the 26tji 
 of December. He was on the same day unanimously elected 
 vice-president of the department of sculpture ; but he made 
 small account of this new honor, and now that he was freed 
 from the burden of the presidenc}' never again attended 
 the sittings of the Academy. Formal admonitions on the 
 subject were sent to liim, in which it was declared that his 
 prolonged absence was not sufficientl}^ canonical {non bas- 
 tantemente canonicd) ; but the}" produced no elTect, for the 
 artist was determined to free himself entirely from obliga- 
 tions which had become unendurable. He even endeavored 
 to resign his professorship, but was induced to yield to the 
 earnest desire of the Academy, expressed in an official letter,^ 
 
 ' Thorvaldsen had asked two thousand crowns for a bas-relief and a medal- 
 lion. The president of the committee replied, July 6, 1826, '-that they would 
 be greatly obliged if the artist would be kind enough to reduce the price, not 
 that they thought it excessive, considering his great reputation, but because their 
 resources were insufficient to meet it." Thorvaldsen entered readily into the 
 views of the committee, and with his usual disinterestedness reduced the price 
 one-half, 
 
 2 About the month of August, 1828, the plasters were sent to Pisa, and the 
 marbles were finished a year later. 
 » Sept. 11,1831. 
 
no 
 
 LIFE OF THOBVALDSEN. 
 
 that he would retain the title at least for a short time 
 longer. 
 
 The King of Bavaria, desiring to enjoy again the society 
 of friends and artists in Rome, had purchased the Villa di 
 Malta, where he took up his residence at the beginning of 
 the year 1829. He thus became Thorvaldsen's near neigh- 
 bor, and the royal dignity did not hinder him from resuming 
 his old habits of friendly familiarit}'. 
 
 A day or two after his arrival in Rome, his majest}' re- 
 pairs to the famous Osteria Ripa di Grande^ in company 
 with Joseph Koch, Catel, Thorvaldsen, and several other 
 artists, and sits down at his old place, marked by a bad 
 penn}^ nailed on the table. The repast is a gay one : they 
 talk, the}' discuss every thing, even politics are not ex- 
 cluded ; for we hear that, in a moment of extreme good 
 humor, all the guests get upon the table, clinking their 
 glasses, and shouting with all their might, " Down with Don 
 Miguel ! " 1 
 
 Some days after, the king surprised Thorvaldsen in his 
 atelier, and, before the sculptor was aware of his purpose, 
 hung round his neck the cross of commander of the crown 
 of Bavaria, saying, " It is on the field of battle that the 
 soldier is honored ; and so the artist, too, ought to receive 
 his reward of merit on the very spot where he has done so 
 many great things." 
 
 The prince came often thus to visit the sculptor. More 
 than once Thorvaldsen, working near his open window, 
 heard himself called by a passer-b}', inviting him to come 
 and dine. It was the King of Bavaria.^ 
 
 There was another personage of high rank at this time 
 in Rome, who kept up an infinitel}^ greater state than the 
 
 1 The Duke of Leuchtenberg, son of Eugene Beauharnais and nephew of 
 King Louis, espoused Donna Maria, daughter of Don Pedro. This princess be- 
 came Queen of l*ortugal, when her uncle, Don Miguel, lost the throne he had 
 usurped. 
 
 2 Thiele. 
 
LIFE OF THOBVALBSEN. 
 
 Ill 
 
 Bavarian monarch, — the Grand Duchess Helena of Russia. 
 Every night there was a fete at her palace, whither flocked 
 all the best society, eager to swell the train of the princess, 
 tvho dazzled all eyes by her beauty. Thorvaldsen was com- 
 missioned to model her bust. She came to sit to him, and 
 ae produced a work which won him universal praise. 
 
 It is a fact without precedent in the sculptor's life, that he 
 /his year declined a commission. The Archduchess Maria 
 Louisa, widow of the Emperor Napoleon I., had lost her 
 second husband, the Count von Neipperg, and wished to 
 erect a mausoleum to his memory in the Church of Saint 
 Louis, at Parma. She sent to beg Thorvaldsen to under- 
 take the work, but he refused the honor. 
 
 By a somewhat singular coincidence, he, almost at the 
 same time, accepted a commission from a Scotch gentleman, 
 Mr. Alexander Murray, for a colossal bust of Napoleon I. 
 Thorvaldsen, who had never had an opportunity of seeing 
 the emperor, got together all that he needed for his guid- 
 ance, statues, medals, engravings, and succeeded in produc- 
 ing a work grave in character, which has the air of an 
 apotheosis rather than a portrait. The bust is supported by 
 an eagle with outspread wings ; an arrangement which may 
 be seen in several of the busts of Roman emperors. 
 
 A fervent admirer of antiquity, Thorvaldsen was also an 
 enthusiastic collector of works of ancient art, — vases, en- 
 graved stones, statuettes, cameos, medals. These collections 
 are now in the Museum in Copenhagen, where they fill sev- 
 eral rooms on the first floor. At the time of which we are 
 now writing, the house where he lived was undergoing re- 
 pairs, and he thought it prudent to close all access to his 
 apartments, so that no one could enter his rooms except 
 through the lodgings of Signora Buti. Meanwhile, he one 
 day noticed that he had been robbed of a large number of 
 medals. Great was the grief of the collector, and in the first 
 outburst of his anger he was rash enough to suspect the 
 
I 12 
 
 LIFE OF THOBVA.LDSEN. 
 
 lionest people with whom he lived. A legal examination 
 became necessaiy, when it was found that the thief was a 
 miserable fellow whom the artist had emploj'ed to keep his 
 accounts. As soon as there was a hope of recovering his 
 medals, Thorvaldsen's anger cooled. The benevolent feel- 
 ings so natural to him resumed their swa}', and he himself 
 took steps to stop the prosecvition, not wishing to ruin the 
 culprit. A short time afterward, a small bag was thrown 
 into his room through the window, which contained a part 
 of the stolen property. The author of the theft disappeared 
 from Rome. Every possible search was made among the 
 dealers for the articles which had not been restored, but 
 without success. Thorvaldsen felt the more regret, as a 
 number of the pieces thus lost belonged to his friend. Pro- 
 fessor Brondsted, who had left them in his care. 
 
 This incident, unimportant in itself, had an unfortunate 
 effect on the mind of the artist, inspiring him, as we shall 
 hereafter see, with an exaggerated distrust of his fellow- 
 men. 
 
 Called to Munich by a desire to superintend in person the 
 final arrangements for the erection of the monument of the 
 Duke of Leuchtenberg, previous to its inauguration, Thor- 
 valdsen left Rome, Jan. 22, 1830, in compan}' with Count 
 Vash, Prussian ambassador at the court of Naples, and 
 arrived on the 14th of February following in the Bavarian 
 capital. Notwithstanding the changes of detail which the 
 artist had ventured to make in the original design, the 
 duchess was so well satisfied with the work that she had 
 already had it lithographed, with the intention of giving a 
 copy to each member of her famih^ 
 
 Scarcely had he arrived, when the artist presented him- 
 self at the palace. Although the king was ill and had kept 
 his bed for several days, Thorvaldsen was conducted with- 
 out delay to the royal bed-chamber, with the intention of 
 giving his majesty a surprise. Am I not dreaming ! " he 
 
LIFE OF THOBVALDSEN. 
 
 113 
 
 cried, OQ seeing him. "Am I really awake ! Thorvaldseu 
 in Munich ! " Great was the rejoicing ; and for several 
 weeks, both at court and in the town, there were constant 
 festivities in honor of the unexpected guest. 
 
 The inauguration of the mausoleum of the Duke of Leuch- 
 tenberg was to have taken place on the 20th of February, 
 the eve of the anniversary of the prince's death. ^ But the 
 sculptor, having found it necessary to make some changes in 
 the architectual part of the work, in order that the monu- 
 ment might be seen to better advantage in its place in the 
 Church of St. Michael, begged that the ceremony might be 
 delayed. It was accordingl}^ postponed to the 12th of 
 March. 
 
 As soon as the mausoleum was exposed to view, it became 
 the mark for some unfriendly criticisms : upon the whole, 
 however, it was far more admired than censured. No im- 
 partial critic can deu}^ the beauty of the statue, nor the 
 remarkable execution of the marble group of the two genii 
 which Thorvaldseu had finished with his own hand. 
 
 Shortly after the revolution of 1830, the author of the 
 " Triumph of Alexander," and the monument of Prince 
 Eugene Beauharnais, received an honor more flattering than 
 any which it has been our pleasant duty to record. The 
 French ambassador at Rome announced to him (May 1, 1831) 
 that he had been made an officer of the Legion of Honor. 
 " This mark of distinction," he writes to the sculptor, " is no 
 more than justly due to the genius whose chisel has repro- 
 duced for us, among so many master-pieces, the triumph of 
 the greatest conqueror of whom history makes mention, and 
 the features of a famous soldier whom France, in the day of 
 her adversity, had no sooner adopted as her son, than she 
 was called upon to mourn his loss. This statue of the hero 
 will serve as a palladium to the cit}', of which it is the most 
 
 1 Michaud says that Prince Eugene died on the 26th of February. It is a mistake 
 See in the Catalogue the inscription on the mausoleum. 
 
 8 
 
114 
 
 LIFE OF THORVALBSEN. 
 
 noble ornament ; and your name, emerging from the sphere 
 to which you vainly seek to confine it, will be associated 
 with those noble deeds which thrill all hearts to-day, and 
 keep the whole world suspended between admiration and 
 fear." 
 
 It must have been about the time of his journey to Ba- 
 varia that Thorvaldsen had, at Florence, a singular inter- 
 view with Bartolini. He had long been personall}' acquainted 
 with the famous Italian sculptor, whose life was a constant 
 and terrible struggle, first with poverty until his fine talent 
 was at last recognized, and a struggle not less obstinate with 
 incessant persecutions instigated by envy after he had gained 
 for himself a high position in art. Lorenzo Bartolini was, 
 moreover, not of a temper to shun the combat : his inde- 
 pendent spirit refused to stoop to the arts of pleasing, and 
 his character took a coloring from the almost belligerent 
 habits into which he seemed to be forced by circumstances. 
 
 He had heard that Thorvaldsen was in Florence, and he 
 expected to receive one of his earliest visits. The Danish 
 artist, however, having for several daj^s neglected to present 
 himself at the atelier of Bartolini, the Italian regarded the 
 delay as a mark of indifference, and a failing in the courtesy 
 one great artist owes to another. He was so much hurt by 
 it that he enjoined upon his pupils, in case Thorvaldsen 
 should finally make his appearance, to tell him that he was 
 not at home. He did come at last, and was told that the 
 master was absent. He insisted, and gave his name : the 
 reply was the same. " But it is impossible for Signor Bar- 
 tolini not to be at home to me I Be kind enough to tell 
 him that it is the Chevalier Thorvaldsen who wishes to see 
 him." 
 
 Bartolini was keeping aloof in a small atelier at the end of 
 the large room in which his pupils were working, and over- 
 heard the colloquy. Irritated b}^ the persistence of one with 
 whom he thought he had reason to be offended, he half 
 
LIFE OF THOBVALBSEN. 
 
 115 
 
 opened the door, and, thrusting out his head, " No, sir, I am 
 not at home to you ! " he cried out, and shut the door. 
 
 Thorvaldsen, who was used to being everywhere received 
 with the greatest respect and attention, retired, stupefied 
 at this strange behavior, which seemed to him a piece of 
 inexplicable eccentricity, the cause of which he probably 
 never knew. 
 
CUPID REVIVING THE FAINTING PSYCHE. 
 
LIFE OF THOEVALDSEJSr. 
 
 117 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Horace Vernet. — Mendelssohn. — Troubles in Rome. — Atelier and 
 Garden of Thorvaldsen. — Roman Society. — The History of the 
 God of Love. — Byron's Monument. — Walter Scott. — " The 
 Adonis." — Statue of Maximilian I. — Monuments of Gutenberg 
 and Schiller. — Departure of Vernet. — Cholera. — Thorvaldsen's 
 Return to Denmark. 
 
 THE LITTLE DANCING-GIRL. 
 
 On the 25th of March, 1830, 
 Thorvaldsen arrived in Rome on 
 his return from Bavaria. Events 
 which took place shortl}^ after- 
 ward in France caused great ex- 
 citement in Ital}', and especially 
 in Rome. Scarcely had the news 
 of the revolution in Paris reached 
 the papal dominions, when the 
 French ambassador quitted the 
 city and repaired to Naples. 
 During the first few months fol- 
 lowing his departure, Horace 
 Vernet, director of the French 
 Academy in Rome, and now sole 
 official representative of France 
 at the Holy See, found himself 
 invested by circumstances with 
 diplomatic functions. He acquit- 
 ted himself of his delicate duties 
 with his well-known intelligence 
 
Il8 LIFE OF THOBVALDSEN. 
 
 and energy, and through him the French interests, which 
 might have been seriously compromised, were protected. 
 
 Horace Vernet and Thorvaldsen were great friends : the 
 one set a high value upon the talent of the Danish artist, 
 the other professed a passionate admiration for the painter ; 
 and we do not doubt that the conduct of Vernet at this time 
 contributed to increase still more the enthusiasm of the 
 sculptor. Notwithstanding that they were nqyj unlike in 
 temperament, these two great artists maintained a lifelong 
 friendship, based upon reciprocal esteem. 
 
 The situation was a very difficult one for Horace Vernet. ^ 
 The new ideas had penetrated into the pontifical States, and 
 there were found people prejudiced enough to wish to make 
 the French residents in Rome responsible for their diffusion. 
 Pamphlets the most hostile were freel}^ circulated, and anony- 
 mous letters poured in upon the director of the Academj^ 
 He was not the man to be intimidated by such thi-eats : in 
 the name of France, he called upon Cardinal Albani to put 
 a stop to these annoyances. 
 
 The composer, Felix Mendelssohn, to whose charming 
 genius we owe so many sweet melodies, was then in Rome. 
 One of his letters, dated March 1st, 1831, shows that this 
 state of agitation continued for a considerable time. 
 
 " The most to be pitied in the present state of affairs," he 
 says, " are the ladies Vernet, who are in a very unpleasant 
 position. Singularly enough, the hatred of the whole popu- 
 lation is directed toward the students of the French school 
 of art : it is pretended that thej^ alone could easily bring 
 about a revolution. Horace Vernet has received a number 
 of threatening anonymous letters. Lately he even found, sta- 
 tioned in front of his atelier, an armed Transteverino, who 
 took to flight on seeing him go after his gun ; and, as these 
 
 1 See the interesting publication of M. A. Durande upon Joseph, Charles, and 
 Horace Vernet. Paris, Hetzel. 
 
LIFE OF THOBVALDSEN. HQ 
 
 ladies are now entirely alone at the villa, the situation is the 
 more painful for the famil3\" 
 
 Though the French were more specially threatened, all 
 strangers in Rome were uneas}^ ; and the most alarming 
 reports were circulated. ^ Thorvaldsen, whose success had 
 raised up for him many enemies, naturally had, more than 
 any one else, serious reasons for alarm : so thought the 
 young Danish artists, who proposed to form a guard to pro- 
 tect his works and his collections. He at first welcomed 
 this mark of devotion on the part of his countrymen ; but, 
 when the troubles seemed to grow more serious, he would 
 no longer accept it. " It would be paying too dear," he said, 
 " for my own protection or that of my statues, to expose one 
 of you to being killed. If they want only my money, well 
 and good, — I will tr}" to earn more; if it is my life, let 
 them take that too. Must I not give it up some time or 
 other ? " 
 
 In spite of the firmness of this language, Thorvaldsen was 
 of too pacific a temper to relish such a life of excitement. 
 He no longer felt at home in Rome, and thought seriously 
 of changing his place of residence : so it would appear, at 
 least, from some letters found among his papers, in which his 
 friends endeavor to persuade him to leave Rome and go to 
 
 1 Thorvaldsen had his share of trouble in these agitations. One day he was 
 surprised by a call from the executor of Cardinal Consalvi's will, who begged 
 him to receive directly the 12,000 crowns still due to him for the monument of 
 Pius VII. The sculptor replied that, the work not being wholly finished, the 
 time for payment had not come ; but the gentleman insisted, and urged him to 
 get without any more delay into the carriage waiting for him at the door. The 
 city was in a turmoil, and the directors of the Monte di Pieta feared an attack 
 upon the bank, known to hold the deposit of Cardinal Consalvi : they wanted the 
 artist either to draw out the 1'2,000 crowns immediately, or leave them there at 
 his own risk. He chose the first alternative, but felt afterward very uneasy 
 with his bags of money in the carriage. At Torlonia's, where he wanted to get 
 them to receive the money on deposit, the greatest agitation prevailed : the court 
 was filled with gendarmes , an attack was expected at any moment, and he was 
 dismissed without ceremony by the clerks. Thanks, however, to the' obliging 
 interference of Madame Torlonia, he was relieved of his inconvenient burden. 
 (Thiole.) 
 
120 
 
 LIFE OF TH0RVALD8EN. 
 
 Marseilles, and thence by way of Paris to London, where 
 they would join him. 
 
 Some intimation of this project seems to have reached 
 Bavaria ; for King Louis tried to persuade him to come to 
 Munich, offering to make him professor in the Academy 
 of that city, and Counsellor of State on extraordinary ser- 
 vice. 
 
 These entreaties did not, however, induce the artist to 
 take any decided step. The political excitement having 
 subsided, the round of social entertainments was resumed 
 with more ardor than ever. Thorvaldsen had always been 
 fond of going to evening parties, where the chief attraction 
 for him was the pleasure of meeting pretty and elegant 
 women, of whom it seems there were many in Rome at that 
 time. 
 
 Roman society was wholly captivated by Horace Vernet, 
 whose directorship is still remembered as a marked epoch 
 in the annals of the French Academy. Mendelssohn, too, 
 the young and ardent musician, intimate with both the il- 
 lustrious masters, was at every entertainment ; and it was 
 at one of these parties that he met them both for the first 
 time. 
 
 " At my first ball at Torlonia's," he writes, " not knowing 
 any lady, I stood looking on, watching the crowd, and not 
 dancing. Suddenl}^ I felt some one clap me on the shoulder, 
 and at the same time a strange voice said to me : ' So you 
 too are admiring the beautiful English girl ? ' What was 
 my astonishment, upon turning round, to find myself face to 
 face with the Counsellor of State, Thorvaldsen, who, stand- 
 ing at the door of the salon^ was never tired of admiring this 
 lovely creature. Scarcely had he asked me the question, 
 when I heard loud talking behind us : ' But where is she, 
 this little English girl ? My wife has sent me to look at her, 
 per Bacco ! * The speaker was a wiry little Frenchman, with 
 gray, bristling hair : he had in his button-hole the ribbon of 
 
LIFE OF THOBVALDSEN. 
 
 121 
 
 the Legion of Honor. I recognized directly Horace Vernet. 
 Thorvaldsen and he immediatel}^ began a very serious and 
 learned conversation upon the subject of this beauty ; and 
 what charmed me above all was to see the young girl, so 
 much admired by these two old masters, i who were never 
 tired of looking at her, go on dancing with the most adorable 
 innocence and unconsciousness. Thorvaldsen and Vernet 
 requested an introduction to her parents, and troubled them- 
 selves no more about me, so I could have no further talk 
 with them that evening. Several da3^s afterward, however, 
 I was invited to the house of the kind English people I met 
 In Venice, who wished, they said, to present me to some of 
 their friends. Now these friends were no other than Vernet 
 and Thorvaldsen. I was enchanted." 
 
 The two masters, who met every evening in societ}^, often 
 visited each other also in their ateliers. Mendelssohn saw 
 them constantly. He thus describes the painter's studio : 
 "Apong alleys of evergreens, now in blossom, exhaling a deli- 
 cious perfume, in the midst of the shrubbery of the Medici 
 garden, is a small house, from which invariably issues some 
 noise which is heard from afar, — shouting, or quarreling, 
 or maybe an air played on the trumpet, or the barking of 
 dogs, — that is the studio. The most admirable disorder reigns 
 throughout. Guns, a hunting horn, a monkey, palettes, a 
 brace of dead hares or rabbits ; everywhere pictures finished 
 or half finished ; the ' Investiture of the Tri-colored Cock- 
 ade ' ; portraits begun of Thorvaldsen, E3'nard, Latour-Mau- 
 bourg ; studies of horses, the first sketch and studies for the 
 Judith, the portrait of the Pope, heads of Moors, pifferari, 
 papal soldiers, my unworthy self, Cain and Abel, and last 
 of all the interior of the studio itself, — all hanging on the 
 walls." 
 
 1 Mendelssohn speaks as a young man when he calls Vernet and Thorvaldsen " these 
 two old masters." The painter, in fact, was hardly forty years old ; and the sculptor; 
 not yet sixty, was in his prime. 
 
122 
 
 LIFE OF THOBVALDSEN. 
 
 At the foot of the terraces of the Palace Barberini, we 
 breathe a quieter atmosphere. How many visitors from all 
 countries have wandered in turn through these ateliers of 
 the sculptor, have strolled through that little garden, fragrant 
 with the sweet scent of oleanders, under that green arbor, 
 contrasting with the dark tint of the great flower-pots ; while 
 tame tortoises crawled peacefull}^ along the paths and flower- 
 beds ! 
 
 " Thorvaldsen," writes a visitor, "lives in Rome in the 
 Palazzo Tomati, Via Sistina, on the Pincian Hill. The first 
 stor}" is devoted to his private apartments. The atelier is 
 higher : jow reach it by a narrow staircase. When you 
 knock at the door, the great sculptor, like Poussin, opens it 
 himself. The furniture of the apartment is simple and prim- 
 itive, but a multitude of fine paintings ornament the walls. 
 Here are bookcases filled with books, rare vases, collec- 
 tions of medals, and gems. All around are fine engravings, 
 sketches, portraits of princes and artists. In front of the 
 house is a garden, which can be reached from the atelier, 
 and where aloes, wild roses, and other flowers straggle over 
 blocks of marble. Thorvaldsen is remarkable for his great 
 activit}', for the close attention he gives to ever3^thing upon 
 which he is engaged. You follow the idea in his work with 
 extreme ease. His conversation, when he is only executing, 
 not planning, is easy, sprightly, and at the same time full of 
 thought and shrewdness. No one among the artists takes a 
 more devoted interest in zealous j'oung beginners. Of the 
 men who have earned their right of citizenship in the artistic 
 world, he is one of the greatest. Art has given him the 
 highest rank, a rank which no one can ignore, even in Ger- 
 many, that country of hereditarj^ titles. His is incontestably 
 a mind of the first order. To a remarkable energ}', he joins 
 that easy facility which seems only to belong to graceful 
 talent. He ends his life, commenced in hardships among 
 
LIFE OF THORVALBSEN. 
 
 123 
 
 peasants, in the first ranks of society, where he inspires as 
 much interest as veneration." ^ 
 
 The sculptor was often seen in his garden, walking with a 
 slow step and dreamy air, and moulding in his hands a bit of 
 clay : at the first glance, he might be taken for an idle man. 
 But what activity under this apparent calm ! and how finely 
 organized that brain which could, without efibrt, carry on at 
 the same time so many and such various works, profane or 
 sacred, light or severe ! 
 
 The hardest task for the artist was his correspondence : it 
 was a great efibrt for him to write ; and he finally fell into a 
 phlegmatic habit in regard to it, from which he seldom, if 
 ever, departed. When he suspected a letter of containing a 
 disagreeable request, he would refrain from opening it, and 
 allow his correspondence to accumulate for months, until 
 some friend kindly undertook to look it over and reply for 
 him.2 
 
 1 M. Fayot, in the journal "L'Artiste." 
 
 2 Generally Thorvaldsen did no more than sign his letters. Excepting his Danish 
 correspondence, most of the letters in other languages, French, German, Italian, 
 have but little interest except as autographs : we shall limit ourselves therefore to 
 giving two of these signatures. 
 
 These autographs have a firmness, especially the first, which is sculptural in char- 
 acter. In one, he retains the familiar name of Bertel; in the other, he translates it 
 into Italian. Thorvaldsen never destroyed the letters he received, writing on the 
 backs of them the rough draft of his reply, when, as a rare thing lie answered them 
 
124 
 
 LIFE OF THOBVALDSEN. 
 
 Thorvaldsen was passionately fond of music, and plaj^ed 
 the guitar like a true virtuoso. " M}" character as a pianist," 
 writes Mendelssohn, " procures me here a peculiar pleasure. 
 You know how much Thorvaldsen loves music. He has in 
 his atelier an excellent instrument, and in the morning I 
 play something to him from time to time while he works. 
 When I see the old artist mould his brown claj^, give with a 
 hand firm and delicate the last touch to an arm or a drapery, 
 when I see him creating these imperishable works which will 
 command the admiration of posterity, I feel myself happy 
 in being able to give him pleasure." 
 
 At this period he had much to do with the god of Love. 
 After having represented him as the conqueror of the uni- 
 verse in the four bas-reliefs of which we have already spoken, 
 he undertook a series of compositions illustrating the his- 
 tory of the son of Venus, a history rich in incident and more 
 varied than any of the ancient fables. It was to him, how- 
 ever, only a recreation. " I am going to busy myself about 
 Cupid's little affairs," he used to say. " The mischievous boy 
 pulls me by the sleeve : I must give it a shake to get rid of 
 him " 
 
 He was not, however, erudite enough to find for himself all 
 the subjects that he represented, of which the greater part 
 are taken from the less known portions of the Greek anthol- 
 ogy. He was aided in this undertaking by a friend, a learned 
 poet (more scholar than poet) named llicci, who lived at 
 Rieti, near Rome. Ricci having had the misfortune to lose 
 his wife, the artist volunteered to compose a monument for 
 her tomb in the church at Rieti. The poet was extremely 
 grateful, and the kindly relations between the two friends 
 became still closer. Devoting himself to studies which 
 were quite to his taste, Ricci furnished the sculptor with the 
 
 himself. He also covered the blank portions with sketches and plans. Ilerr Thiele 
 found all these scraps, such precious material to the biographer, in a cellar of tho 
 Palace Tomati in Kome, buried under a heap of rubbish. 
 
LIFE OF THOBVALBSEN. 
 
 125 
 
 subjects of his bas-reliefs in Italian verse. He even proposed 
 having Thorvaldsen's compositions engraved, to illustrate a 
 history of Love, to be written by himself in imitation of the 
 old poets. 
 
 The artist took much pleasure in this pastime, and the 
 suggestions of Ricci were carried out with such astonishing 
 rapidity that these illustrations of the exploits of the son of 
 Venus soon grew into a sort of poem in bas-relief. ^ 
 
 The bust of Lord Byron, modelled by Thorvaldsen in 1817, 
 had been well received in England. Several years after the 
 poet's death at Missolonghi, his fellow-countrj^men proposed 
 to erect a monument to his memor}', and the committee 
 formed for the purpose determined to appl}" to the same 
 artist. Like all liberal thinkers of the day, Thorvaldsen was 
 a philhellenist, and therefore willingl}" engaged to execute 
 the work. Byron, for whom personally he had had but little 
 sj^mpath}', he now thought of only as one of the heroes of 
 Greek independence. 
 
 Sir John Hobhouse, chairman of the committee, wrote, on 
 the 22d of May, 1829, to beg the artist to undertake the work, 
 offering him, at the same time, the sum of one thousand 
 pounds sterling. The English are very generous when they 
 have a monument to erect to one of their distinguished men. 
 But Thorvaldsen on his part always cared more for the honor 
 than for the profit he might derive fi-om his works. Though 
 he earned a great deal of money, he lived frugally because his 
 habits were simple, while at the same time he was very lib- 
 eral in matters of business. Of this it would be easy to give 
 numerous proofs. 
 
 1 All these little subjects were moulded and cast in September, 1831. Thorvaldsen 
 continued the series the following year; and Ricci published a volume called '' Anac- 
 reonte Novissimo del Commcndatore Alberto Thorvaldsen in XXX. Bassorilievi 
 Anacreontici, tradotti dal Angelo Maria IJicci, Koma, 1832, 8°." This work, dedica- 
 ted to the sculptor, and containing thirty plates engraved in outline after the bas- 
 reliefs, seems to have had some success. Ricci had already published in 1828 a collec- 
 tion of poems under the title " L'Anacreonte di Thorvaldsen " 
 
126 
 
 LIFE OF THOBVALDSEN, 
 
 The sculptor accordingly replied that the price proposed 
 would suffice not only for a statue, but also for a bas-relief, 
 to be placed upon the pedestal. The committee left the 
 design of the monument entirely to him, asking only for a 
 drawing, to be submitted to the subscribers, and suggest- 
 ing that it would be easier to conceal the lameness of the 
 illustrious deceased if he were represented in a sitting 
 posture. 
 
 The sketch was finished in 1830, and the next year the first 
 model in plaster ; but quite important changes have been 
 made in the marble, which represents Byron seated on a 
 broken Greek column, holding in one hand a pen, in the 
 other the poem of " Childe Harold." 
 
 The bas-relief, representing the Genius of Poesy, was fin- 
 ished at the same time, though the marbles were not ready 
 to be sent to London until April, 1835. Before it was put 
 up, the monument was subjected to many vicissitudes. The 
 committee first proposed to place it in Westminster Abbey, 
 or St. Paul's ; then in the British Museum ; in the National 
 Gallery ; and finally in Kensal Green Cemeter3^ But the 
 Anglican clergy, who are not remarkable for their tolerance, 
 were more hostile than the Romish clergy had been in re- 
 gard to the mausoleum of Pius VII. They were displeased 
 that a poet who was in their eyes immoral and impious 
 should be thus honored. Ten years passed away and the 
 monument had not yet found a place, when in 1845 Trin- 
 ity College, Cambridge, Byron's Alma Mater, offered to re- 
 ceive it. The marbles, not without difficulty, were discovered 
 in one of the vaults of the London custom-house ; and the 
 monument was finally placed where it now stands, in the 
 college library. 
 
 In 1831, Thorvaldsen received a visit from another repre- 
 sentative of English literature. Sir Walter Scott. It is re- 
 ported of this celebrated historical novelist, that he did not 
 manifest much interest while at Rome in works of art, since 
 
LIFE OF THORVALDSEJSr, 
 
 127 
 
 he did not even go to see the Vatican : we mention this 
 with reservation, as an assertion to which we can scarcely 
 give credit. At all events the author desired to be presented 
 to the sculptor. Walter Scott, well versed as he was in the 
 tongues of the North, could only speak his own ; and as to 
 Thorvaldsen, it was impossible for him to follow a conversa- 
 tion in English. A person present at their interview has re- 
 corded the particulars. 1 These two illustrious men accosted 
 each other with touching cordiality ; but their conversation, 
 as may be suspected, was strangely fragmentar}', consisting 
 only of interjections and monos3^11ables. Meanwhile one 
 could hear coming from each the words : conoscenza — 
 charme, plaisir — happy — connaissance — piacere — de- 
 lighted — heureux. Very concise language ; but the two 
 new friends were so pleased, that they seemed to understand 
 each other wonderfully. They shook hands with the greatest 
 friendliness, they clapped each other on the shoulder, and 
 when they parted followed each other with their eyes, mak- 
 ing all the while the most demonstrative gestures. 
 
 Whatever was frank, open, and natural delighted Thor- 
 valdsen. The simplicity of his nature could not accommo- 
 date itself to the strangeness of Byron's : he could make 
 nothing of his exaggerated melancholy. Walter Scott, on 
 the contrary, pleased him at first sight : he understood him 
 at once. During the great novelist's stay in Rome he mod- 
 elled his bust. 
 
 While welcoming with the greatest cordiality his favorite 
 artist in Munich, the King of Bavaria nevertheless had not 
 failed to reproach Thorvaldsen for the little zeal he had 
 shown in the finishing of the "Adonis." On his return to 
 Eome, Thorvaldsen, mindful of the complaints of the sov- 
 ereign, resumed the work with considerable ardor. Con- 
 noisseurs who were regarding the marble as almost finished, 
 and admiring its careful execution, were therefore much sur- 
 
 * M. Kestner, Etudes Komaiues. 
 
128 
 
 LIFE OF THOBVALDSEN. 
 
 prised to see the sculptor subjecting it suddenly to a radical 
 change ; for, in spite of the praises lavished upon this statue, 
 he was only half satisfied, and considered it not 3^et fit to leave 
 his hands. He therefore retouched it with a boldness which 
 alarmed those who saw him bus}^ with it. The troubles in 
 Rome interrupted the work for a time ; and it was not until 
 October, 1831, that the artist announced to his royal friend 
 that it was completely finished. King Louis was loud in 
 his rejoicings over the good news, and again urged Thor- 
 valdsen to accept the position of professor in the Academy 
 of Munich. He also inquired how far the statue of Maxi- 
 milian I, of Bavaria, which he had more recently ordered, 
 had progressed. 1 
 
 The model of this equestrian statue, twice the natural size, 
 was not finished until 1836 : it was sent to Bavaria the same 
 year, and was exhibited at the royal founder}-. The statue 
 and the horse were cast iu one piece the following year by 
 Stiglmaier^ so successfully that it was scarcel}^ necessary to 
 finish it with the chisel. In 1839, the monument of the 
 ancestor of King Louis was solemnly inaugurated in Wit- 
 telsbachplatz, at Munich. It is one of the most beautiful 
 equestrian statues of modern times. The elector is repre- 
 sented armed cap-d-pie in the costume he wore at the time 
 of the Thirty Years' War, Thorvaldsen, who did not con- 
 sider a monument complete without bas-reliefs on the pedes- 
 tal, had modelled two compositions for the two sides ; but, 
 as soon as the king learned what he had done, he wrote to 
 
 1 King Louis gave him this order, Feb. 15, 1830, the day after the artist arrived in 
 Munich, as a testimony of the satisfaction his visit afforded him. 
 
 2 stiglraaier was the son of a blacksmith. King Louis, discovering his natural 
 talent, sent him to Italy to study the science of casting: he afterward intrusted him 
 with a number of works. Stiglmaier cast the colossal statue of Bavaria, erected on 
 a hill near Munich. This statue, which is more than sixty feet high, was cast from a 
 model made by the sculptor Schwanthaler, the same artist who was recommonded 
 by King Louis to Thorvaldsen. l?tiglmaier also cast the statue of the King Maxi- 
 milian I, a work by the sculptor Rauch. also at Munich, and which must not be con- 
 founded with the equestrian statue of the elector of which we have just spoken. 
 
LIFE OF THOBVALDSEN. 
 
 1 29 
 
 the sculptor that political considerations would not permit 
 him to make use of them.^ 
 
 It was at this period that Thorvaldsen began the monu- 
 ment to the memory of Gutenberg, and a little later that of 
 Schiller. He did nothing further, however, than make minia- 
 ture models of the two works. The first had been ordered 
 by the City of Mayence, in 1832 ; and the statue was made 
 from his drawings and small models by his pupil Herr 
 Bissen, a Danish sculptor of true talent, who has since exe- 
 cuted some fine works for his country. The inventor of 
 printing is represented in the dress of an old German crafts- 
 man of the Middle Ages, holding in his right hand movable 
 types, and in his left the Latin Bible, the first printed book. 
 One of the bas-reliefs illustrates the invention of the printing- 
 press ; the other, that of movable tj^pes : Gutenberg figures 
 in it in company with his collaborator, Faust. 
 
 All the work was cast in bronze at Paris, b}^ M. Crozatier, 
 in 1836 ; and the monument was inaugurated at Mayence the 
 14th of August, 1837. This city, to thank Thorvaldsen, who 
 would not accept any remuneration for his models, made him 
 an honorary citizen. 
 
 The artist took also a collaborator in the execution of 
 the Schiller^ monument, intended for Stuttgart, where it 
 was inaugurated with great ceremony the 8th of May, 1839. 
 
 Though Thorvaldsen had several times manifested a de- 
 sire to leave Home, where political agitations disturbed his 
 peace of mind, he had not had the leisure to arrange his 
 plans. All his time was taken up by important works. He 
 
 1 The two models were put aside, and are now in the Museum at Copenhagen. See 
 description in Catalogue. 
 
 2 He engaged to compose the sketches, and only asked for this work the repay- 
 ment of his expenses. One of his pupils, M. Matthiae, executed the monument 
 The sketches, sent to Stuttgart in 1835, were approved; and the plasters were then 
 cast according to agreement. The models were forwarded from Rome to Munich, 
 to be cast in bronze by Stiglmaier: they were left for some time on view at the 
 Royal Foundery, and were visited by a great number of amateurs, while the bronzes 
 were sent to Stuttgart. 
 
I30 
 
 LIFE OF TUOBVALDSEN. 
 
 was also retained in Rome by the attraction of a most choice 
 society, of which Horace Vernet was the life. Unfortunately 
 for the sculptor, the director of the French Academy was 
 soon to leave Rome. Before his departure, Vernet, whose 
 bust Thorvaldsen had modelled in 1833, finished his friend's 
 portrait. This portrait, painted with a vigorous and discern- 
 ing pencil, renders the features and character of the master 
 with great truthfulness. ^ 
 
 Vernet was too popular in Rome for his departure not to 
 be regarded as an important event, and an occasion for sin- 
 cere regret. As he was to sail in the month of February, 
 the artists of ever}^ nationality among whom he had lived 
 for several years gave a farewell banquet in his honor at the 
 Palace Ruspoli, of which we find some interesting particu- 
 lars in a letter dated from Rome and published by Herr 
 Thick : — 
 
 " It is very singular that, no matter at what assembly Thorvaldsen 
 may be, or who the person is for whom the fete is given, there always 
 comes a time when the festivities seem to be in honor of him. So it 
 happened again on this occasion. The company having proposed a 
 toast to Horace Vernet, Thorvaldsen, who was at his right, presented 
 him with the crown of laurel, left until this moment on the bust of the 
 painter. But Vernet would not allow him to put it on his head. He 
 rose, seized it, and placed it on Thorvaldsen's brow, saying, 'It 
 belongs here ! ' At the same time he threw himself on the sculptor's 
 neck and embraced him. This scene called forth indescribable enthu- 
 siasm, and the old Ruspoli Palace shook to its foundations with accla- 
 mations and applause." 
 
 The same writer tells us that this fete had its " to-morrow." 
 The festivities took place on a fast day ; and, as it was difficult 
 to scrupulous!}^ respect religious laws on such an occasion, 
 
 1 This portrait is in the Copenhagen Museum, in one of the rooms of the first 
 floor. The engraving facing the title-page of this work is taken from it. The artist 
 is represented in his working-dress : the bust upon which he is engaged is that of 
 Horace Vernet. The painter thought at first of representing his friend leaning upon 
 the Lion of Lucerne." M. Philippe Delaroche Vernet has a sketch of this first 
 composition. 
 
LIFE OF THORVALDSEN. 
 
 131 
 
 the organizers of the banquet took the precaution to solicit 
 beforehand the indulgence of the ecclesiastical authorities. 
 Notwithstanding this, the gendarmes came the next day to 
 arrest the landlord of the Palace Ruspoli for having per- 
 mitted his guests to eat flesh on the eve of the Purification 
 of the Hol}^ Virgin. The culprit took refuge for a time at 
 the Villa Medici, which enjoys the right of asylum : the 
 affair was afterwards arranged and he escaped imprisonment, 
 but only by the managers of the fete paying for him a fine 
 of a hundred Roman crowns. 
 
 The departure of Horace Vernet left a void in Roman 
 society. No one felt it more than the sculptor, who from 
 that time thought more seriously of quitting Rome. Not- 
 withstanding their separation, the two artists always remained 
 the best of friends. 
 
 " Dear and illustrious colleague," wrote Horace Vernot some 
 months afterward, "I cannot allow a friend of mine to start for 
 Rome without taking one word of remembrance to you. I do not 
 
 know whether M. , to whom I gave a similar commission, has 
 
 fulfilled it. . . . 
 
 "I am certain that you have never for a moment imputed negli- 
 gence to me. The sentiments of respect and friendship which I have 
 for your genius, as well as for you personally, are a sure guaranty of 
 the inviolability of my attachment and of my veneration for both one 
 and the other, — to say nothing of my gratitude for your kindnesses to 
 me. It was mentioned in our newspapers that you thought of making 
 a journey to Paris.' Imagine my joy at such news! I wrote you 
 then, as I have told you above ; but the time has passed, and I very 
 much fear I must renounce the hope of seeing you here. Adieu, 
 dear and illustrious friend ! If I can be of any use, command me. 
 You will know how pleased I should be to be able to give you fresh 
 proof of my friendship. ^ 
 
 " Faithfully and affectionately yours, 
 
 "Horace Vernet. 
 
 "Paris, Jan. 8, 1836." 
 
 1 Thorvaldsen never went to Paris. 
 
 2 After Thorvaldsen's death, the Baroness von Stampe carried to Paris the ring he 
 had bequeathed to Horace Vernet. The painter received it from her with deep and 
 
132 
 
 LIFE OF THORVALDSEN. 
 
 Vernet, as we here perceive, felt for Thorvaldsen a friend- 
 ship mingled with respect : the sculptor was more than twenty 
 3'ears older than he, and alread}^ his long white hair gave 
 him a venerable aspect. 
 
 We are indebted to M. Philippe Delaroche Vernet for the 
 following letter, of a later date, however, from Thorvaldsen 
 to his grandfather. 
 
 The sculptor wrote French with great difficulty. We give 
 the letter, — ill-expressed as it is, and written apparently from 
 his dictation, — because it shows that, when he had the cause 
 of an unfortunate artist to plead, he could overcome his usual 
 indolence with regard to his correspondence. 
 
 KOME, June 9, 1838. 
 
 {In the hand of Vernet, 
 " Answered July 3.") 
 
 My very Esteemed Friend, — 
 
 I have been intending to write you for a long time : it was always 
 my hearty desire ; but if I have not been able to do so sooner, pray 
 pardon me, because I have been so overwhelmed with work I have 
 had no leisure to write. I ought also to tell you that I have always 
 been flattering myself with the hope of soon being able to see and 
 embrace you. Unfortunately, my affairs forbid it, and deprive me of 
 a pleasure which would have been to me, of all others, the most 
 delightful. 
 
 How great my satisfaction would be, were I able, upon leaving 
 Kome, to make my journey by way of Paris-! The admiration I should 
 feel at the sight of the many chefs-d'ceuvre you have executed since 
 your departure hence would give to my soul the greatest happiness ; 
 for you know, most dear and tender friend, that for me you are and 
 always will be the first painter of the century. I shall, I think, soon 
 set out for my native country in a Danish frigate which the govern- 
 ment has put at my disposal ; and, deprived as I am of the happiness 
 of visiting you, I must tell you that I shall not fail to perform that 
 duty at another time. 
 
 reverent emotion. " He took the ring,'' says the baroness, and put it on his finger. 
 He then held it to his forehead, and bowed his head upon it for a while, as though 
 buried in memories of the past." 
 
LIFE OF THORVALDSEJSr. 
 
 133 
 
 It remains to me now to ask of you a great favor : of which the 
 particulars are already explained to you in a letter from our friend 
 Eienhart [and by a postscript by M. Ingres] that you will receive at 
 the same time with this. 
 
 A letter from M. Bartholdi, received day before yesterday by M. 
 Ingres, informs us that he thinks of giving up M. Sievert, his relative. 
 M. Ingres has despatched another to-day to M. Bartholdi, urging 
 him, in spite of the reasons he has given us, by no means to abandon 
 thus a young man in the midst of his career, with a prospect before 
 him of a fine success and happy future. 
 
 All who know M. Sievert take a lively interest in him from his sad 
 position. Then you know what it is to be a stranger in Kome, and 
 obliged to live for six months on credit. 
 
 We heartily wish him all possible success. Your good judgment 
 and grand imagination will be in this grave matter of the best service 
 to this young man, and I shall be eternally grateful to you for any 
 kindness you may show to him. 
 
 Be so kind as to favor me with a word of reply, that I may know 
 if you enjoy perfect health, and to acquaint me with the result of the 
 application made to M. Bartholdi in behalf of M. Sievert, his relative. 
 
 In this hope, please accept my compliments and assurances of 
 respectful attachment. I embrace you with all my heart. 
 
 Your very devoted friend, 
 
 Albert Thorvaldsen. 
 
 P. S. I am also looking forward with the liveliest interest for good 
 news of your very dear family ; for I have heard with great pleasure 
 that you have already acquired the title of grandpapa. 
 
 At the close of the year 1836, on the 31st of December, 
 the Academy of St. Luke, in Rome, unanimously resolved 
 that, to render homage to the talent of the illustrious Danish 
 artist, a gold medal should be struck in his honor. On this 
 occasion the president of the Academy wrote him a most 
 flattering letter.^ 
 
 This letter is as follows : — 
 
 Insigne e Pontificia Accademia Romana delle belle arti, 
 denominata di S. Luca. Li 31 Dicembre, 1836. 
 
 IliLUSTRISSIMO SiGNORE, — 
 
 Gli insigni meriti di V. S. lUustrissima ed il favore che da tanto tempo corapiacesi 
 rendere alia Pontificia Accademia rilasciando apieno suo uso 1' intero onorario cbe 
 
134 
 
 LIFE OF THOBVALBSEN. 
 
 Thorvaldsen had alread^^ fully decided upon quitting Rome 
 (1837), when the cholera broke out in that cit}' with great 
 violence. He held no public office, and consequently there 
 were no claims of honor to keep him there in presence of so 
 serious a danger, at a time, too, when his own country called 
 eagerly for his return. Therefore, while the Academy of St. 
 Luke was summoning the artists to take part in a religious 
 procession, on the 14th of August, to the Church of the 
 Jesuits, where there was a miraculous image of the Virgin, 
 he yielded to the persuasions of several of his fellow-country- 
 men, and left with them. 
 
 Meanwhile, the travellers had not been informed that the 
 inhabitants of the small towns in the vicinity had thought it 
 prudent, in fear of the plague, to establish a sort of sanitary 
 cordon around Rome ; repulsing, with arms in hand, all who 
 attempted to approach. In consequence of this measm-e, 
 
 le compete di cattedratico di scultura, hanno mosso la Congregazione generale adu- 
 nata jeri appresso la proposizione fattane dalConsiglio dei 12 del cadente, ad estemar- 
 lene con alcua atto straordinario la comune riconoscenza. 
 
 E stato quindi con unanime ripetita acclamazione determinato, Che sia coniata in 
 onore di V. S. Ill™* una medaglia d' oro, la quale nel dritto abbia V emblema accade- 
 mico di San Luca, secondo lo stesso di Lei disegno, e nel rovescio la seguente epi- 
 grafe — 
 
 AliBERTO THORVAIiDSEN 
 SCDIiPTORI. CEIiEBERRIMO SODAIil. 
 BENE MERENTI. EX DECR. ACADEMICS. 
 ANN. MDCCCXXXVI. 
 
 Lietissimo di potere colP annunzio di quest' atto accademico, cosi vivamente grato 
 al mio cuore, par complimento al quadriennio della mia Presidenza, altro non mi 
 rimane se non di pregare V. S. Ill™» a gradire questa si spontanea e eolenne dimo- 
 Btrazione dell' ossequio ed amore de' suoi affettuosi coUeghi, e di far voti sincerissimi 
 al Cielo perch6 ci servi per lungbi anni nel Sig. Commendatore Thorvaldsen uno de' 
 piu grandi ornamenti dell' Accademia e di Roma, uno de piii insigni e celebrati 
 maestri di che si onorino le arti europee. 
 
 Con questi sentimenti dell' animo desidero, che V. S. Ill"'' mi abbia costantemeute 
 per sno con tutta la venerazione 
 
 Di V. S-IIl-"" 
 
 Dev™° obi""" Servitore, 
 G. Cav^ Salvt^ Presidente 
 
 Prof. SAIiVATORE BeTTI, 
 
 Sear. perp. 
 
LIFE OF THOBVALDSEJS'. 
 
 when Thorvaldsen and his friends had reached the first vil- 
 lage on their route the}' were warned off" by a sort of impro- 
 vised militia, who ordered them to turn back immediately, 
 threatening to fire upon them if they did not obey. 
 
 It was necessary, therefore, to return to Rome, where the 
 epidemic was raging fearfully. The artist thought it likely 
 he should never see his country again, and judged it prudent 
 to make his will. In this document, dated Aug. 24, 1837, 
 he bequeaths to his native city of Copenhagen his works, 
 and his collections of objects of art and antiquities, on con- 
 dition that a suitable building, exclusively devoted to them, 
 should be provided by the city. He had already, by a deed 
 of prior date, assured a sufficient income to his daughter, 
 whom he had acknowledged in 1835, and for whom he had 
 arranged an honorable marriage. ^ 
 
 It was a sad time, the summer of 1837 in Rome. Constant 
 work was Thorvaldsen's refuge from painful thoughts, ex- 
 cited b}" the presence of an epidemic which every day carried 
 off numerous victims. The master now undertook a statue 
 representing a young girl dancing the saltarello. This figure 
 was intended to ornament one of the halls of the Palace 
 Torlonia, which already contained the first "Dancing Girl" 
 of the artist, and a similar work b}^ Canova. 
 
 Having first blocked out the subject in clay to his satis- 
 faction, the sculptor sent for a model. A beautiful Roman 
 girl, accompanied by her mother, sat for it for a short time, 
 when she began to feel ill. In a few moments she grew 
 worse ; and the symptoms leaving no doubt as to the nature 
 of her illness, — an attack of cholera, — the artist had her 
 
 1 Thorvaldsen's daughter, Eliza-Sophia-Charlotte Magnani, man-ied a Danish 
 colonel, Uerr von Paulsen, by whom she had two children, a son and a daughter. 
 The daughter died when scarcely eighteen years of age. The son is still living in 
 Rome, where he married, and, we think, has children. Becoming a widow, Madame 
 von Paulsen married an Italian, Signor Giorni, by whom she had two other children. 
 She died several years since. The deed referred to (dated 1832) assured to Madame 
 von Paulsen the income of a capital of 40,000 crowns (about $22,000), deposited with 
 ( he National Bank of Copenhagen. 
 
136 
 
 LIFE OF THOBVALDSEN. 
 
 directly taken to her home. She recovered, nevertheless. 
 Some time afterward her mother brought her back, but Thor- 
 valdsen would not consent to let her sit again : he finished 
 the figure without a model. 
 
 From that time he thought only of getting away from 
 Kome : he made every arrangement to carry out this long- 
 deferred project, and wrote to inform his friends in Copen- 
 hagen. The news spread rapidly in Denmark, where it was 
 received with general joy. The king immediately notified 
 Prince Christian, President of the Academy, that he had 
 given orders for a government frigate to be sent to Leghorn, 
 during the summer of 1838, to bring home Thorvaldsen and 
 all his works. The artist was not only oflScially apprised of 
 this, but received a private letter from the prince, expressing 
 the satisfaction he felt at the prospect of his return. 
 
 The sculptor had his boxes packed in advance, and sent 
 them off one after the other to Leghorn, to the number of 
 sixty-two : they contained his statues, pictures, antiquities, 
 and his books. When, in July, Herr Dahlerup, captain in 
 the royal navy of Denmark, informed him that the frigate 
 "Rota" was at anchor, before Leghorn, waiting to take him, 
 his suite, and effects on board, he was all ready to start. 
 He left Rome, with the hope, however, of returning once 
 more, and embarked for Copenhagen the 13th of August. 
 1838. 
 
CUPID AND ANACREON. 
 
LIFE OF TRORVALDSEN, 
 
 139 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 A.rrival of Thorvaldsen in Copenhagen. — Enthusiastic "Welcome. — 
 Apartments in the Charlottenborg Palace. — The Frue Kirke, — 
 His Parsimony and Generosity. — Herr Thiele. 
 
 After a month's voyage, 
 Thorvaldsen again, for 
 the second time, beheld 
 his native land : he came 
 no longer as a visitor, as 
 twenty years before he 
 had come, but to take up 
 his abode there for the 
 rest of his life. How 
 describe the enthusiasm 
 of his countrymen? how 
 picture the ovation he 
 received? His progress 
 may be likened to that 
 of an illustrious prince, a 
 beloved sovereign return- 
 ing to his kingdom after 
 the conquest of a prov- 
 ince. Such a triumph is 
 rare, even in the annals of conquerors. 
 
 The nation was proud of the great artist, who, sprung from 
 the lowest ranks, had raised himself by his merit : she cele- 
 brated his return with a joy almost delirious. And we must 
 do the Danes the justice to remark, that they know how to 
 
 THE THREE GRACES. 
 
I40 LIFE OF THOBVALDSEN. 
 
 appreciate the work of their compatriots, and that they do 
 not willingly sacrifice them to strangers, as is too often the 
 case in other lands. 
 
 It was known that Thorvaldsen had set sail in the Rota,'* 
 and the ship was expected with impatience. The 15th of 
 September, at a quarter past six in the evening, she entered 
 the Sound, and a courier arrived in all haste to announce in 
 Copenhagen the great news. The wind being very light 
 and the current against her, it was calculated that she could 
 hardly reach the roadstead of Helsingoer that evening, or be 
 expected in Copenhagen before the following morning. The 
 next day was Sunda}''. The whole population was on foot 
 at an early hour, but the day passed in vain and anxious 
 expectation. 
 
 The frigate, retarded by the current, cast anchor near 
 Helsingoer, where the Sound is but little wider than a broad 
 river. An invitation was immediately sent by the Danes to 
 the Swedish city of Helsingborg ; and the next day, a steamer, 
 the "Queen Maria," having on board a company composed 
 of the inhabitants of both cities, and carrying the flags of the 
 two nations, came to salute the " Rota." The steamer passed 
 around the frigate, while the band played national airs, which 
 were taken up alternately by choirs. The "Queen Maria" 
 coming alongside the frigate, Thorvaldsen went on board of 
 her, where he was greeted with a patriotic h3^mn : the pastor 
 of Helsingoer, Herr Boye, made an address, and the festivi- 
 ties lasted a good portion of the daj^ 
 
 The artist afterward returned on board the " Rota," where 
 he walked the quarter-deck to a late hour of the evening. 
 At nightfall a superb aurora borealis enveloped the frigate. 
 This phenomenon is not rare in the northern seas, but the 
 national enthusiasm willingly regarded it as a sort of miracle 
 in honor of Thorvaldsen. It was the god Thor, binding 
 with a radiant aureole the brow of one of his most glorious 
 sons. 
 
LIFE OF THORVALDSEJSr. 
 
 141 
 
 The steamer tried to tow the frigate, but did not get her 
 be3'ond Kronborg before Monday morning. Tlie fog was 
 thick, and it was therefore impossible to enjoy the beautiful 
 view which the Sound presents of the Island of Zeeland and 
 of the Swedish coast ; a charming spectacle, recalling in some 
 of its features the Bosphorus or the Bay of Naples, on fine 
 summer evenings. The "Rota" advanced slowly through 
 the fog, escorted by two boats, one Danish, the other Swedish, 
 from which rose national songs, keeping time with the regular 
 stroke of the oars. 
 
 Though the citizens of Copenhagen had been kept on the 
 qui vive all day Sunda}^, they nevertheless had lost none of 
 their enthusiasm, and on Monday all eyes were still fixed 
 upon the steeple of the Church of St. Nicholas, where a 
 flag was to be run up as soon as the ship should heave 
 in sight. But the man who kept watch at the Sextus 
 battery could see nothing for the fog, and the impatience 
 waxed greater. 
 
 A few moments before noon, the sky suddenl}' cleared. 
 Then, far oflT in the distance, was seen the " Rota," with all 
 her canvas spread, sailing toward the harbor. The flag was 
 quickly waving from the top of the spire : at the same 
 moment rose from the city below a prolonged shout, and all 
 the population hurried to the port. 
 
 In spite of the rain, which fell copiousl}^, preparations were 
 direct^ made to receive Thorvaldsen according to the pro- 
 gramme of the committee presiding over the festivities. ^ 
 Boats with flags and streamers flying, and containing mem- 
 bers of various civic associations, were very soon seen leaving 
 the military port, and proceeding down the harbor to meet 
 the frigate. On one flag, the artists', was emblazoned the 
 Tln-ee Graces of Thorvaldsen ; the poets were ranged under 
 the banner of Pegasus ; the students, under Minerva ; the 
 physicians, JEsculapius ; the mechanics, Vulcan ; while the 
 
 ^ Herr Thiele has preserved the minutest details of this fete. 
 
142 
 
 LIFE OF TRORVALDSEN. 
 
 boat of the naval officer who had command of the flotilla 
 bore the device of Neptune. When beyond the battery of 
 " The Three Crowns," the boats divided into two ranks, each 
 forming the half of a circle, in the centre of which moved the 
 frigate. At this moment a brilliant rainbow spanned the 
 heavens, making a triumphal arch above the " Rota." Again 
 the sky of the North seemed anxious to celebrate the return 
 of its son. 
 
 Presently all the boats approached the ship, and one 
 decorated in Pompeian style came alongside. It held 
 Herr Freund and Herr Thiele, who passed on board the 
 " Rota." 
 
 Thorvaldsen was standing on the quarter-deck, perfectly 
 calm, smiling good-naturedly, and regarding with a sort of 
 na^ve astonishment all these solemn demonstrations, as 
 though he did not exactly understand that they were in his 
 honor. As soon as he saw his two friends, he ran to them, 
 and embraced them cordially, hardly leaving them time to pay 
 him the compliments they had been charged with present- 
 ing. Meanwhile from all the barks arose an immense con- 
 cert of voices, chanting in chorus a hymn composed in honor 
 of the artist by the poet Heiberg, and which was long echoed 
 back from the shore by the enthusiastic hurrahs of the crowds 
 lining the wharves. At the same time the "Rota" was 
 boarded, so to speak, by the crews of the whole flotilla. 
 Everybody wanted to get a good look at the illustrious old 
 man. In a few moments the ship became dangerously 
 crowded, and Thorvaldsen was hurried into the long-boat 
 and taken ashore by Capt. Dahlerup. 
 
 As soon as his departure was known, the Danes, who had 
 boarded the " Rota," rushed precipitately to their boats, and 
 the deck was cleared in an instant. Now took place an im- 
 promptu rowing match between the boats, trying to catch up 
 with the one carrying Thorvaldsen. Meanwhile, the sailors 
 of the frigate had manned the yards, and were saluting with 
 
LIFE OF THOBVALBSEN, 
 
 143 
 
 their acclamations the great artist whom the}' had had the 
 honor of bringing back to his country. 
 
 The old man was received, on landing, by the members of 
 the Academy of Fine Arts, together with some of his early 
 friends. Thorvaldsen's qjq was clear, his expression mild 
 and intelligent. The long, white hair which fell on his 
 shoulders was a fitting framework for his regular features. 
 His form was tall and erect, and his step firm. His fine 
 figure and the simplicity of his bearing excited a profound in- 
 terest and sympathy in the crowd, and it was with diflSculty 
 that a passage was cleared to the carriage waiting for him 
 on the quay. The pressure was so great that he was carried 
 through Amalia Street and Amalienborg Square to the palace 
 of Charlottenborg, without perceiving that the horses had 
 been taken out, and that his carriage was drawn b}^ the peo- 
 ple. When he was told of this, he refused to believe it. 
 So excessive a demonstration was not of a nature to please 
 one of his simple manners and character. 
 
 The carriage entered the courtyard of Charlottenborg, 
 and soon the place was besieged. The cro"wd, assembled in 
 the square, tried to enter by the great gate, which had been 
 prudentl}^ closed. The porter not replying to the reiterated 
 ringing of the bell, a man who had contrived to efiect an 
 entrance through the janitor's window constituted himself 
 the mouth-piece of the crowd and declared that they would 
 not disperse without seeing Thorvaldsen. As soon as the 
 artist heard of this desire, he allowed Herr Thiele to lead 
 him to the balcony of the great hall overlooking the Royal 
 Square. 
 
 " Would not any one think," he said, smiling, " thfkw we 
 were in Rome, and I were the Pope, about to give the bene- 
 diction urhi et orbi, from the balcony of St. Peter's?" 
 
 He uncovered to salute his countrymen, and was greeted 
 with prolonged hurrahs. The crowd was so great in the 
 square, that the equestrian statue of Christian V seemed to 
 
144 
 
 LIFE OF TRORVALBSEN. 
 
 swim in an agitated sea ; while children hung in clusters on 
 the street lamp-posts. Charlottenborg was decked with 
 flowers to welcome its new guest ; and in the evening there 
 was a torchlight procession organized by the young artists. 
 
 After such a day, Thorvaldsen doubtless flattered himself 
 that he should return to a tranquil life ; but he was mistaken. 
 This was only the prelude to other solemnities, other ova- 
 tions, and it was long before the artist enjo3'ed a moment's 
 repose. Like a sovereign, he must bear the weight of his 
 grandeur without appearing to be fatigued by it.^ 
 
 We shall not enter into a detailed account of all these fes- 
 tivities, which would detain us too long. Few men have 
 been to such a degree the object of the persistent attentions 
 of their fellow-citizens. The newspapers, which had cele- 
 brated the sculptor's return, continued to inform the public 
 of his slightest actions ; every post brought him an incredi- 
 ble number of letters, congratulations, requests for assist- 
 ance, petitions which he was asked to sign. Nor was poetry 
 wanting, for the Muses are cultivated with enthusiasm in 
 Denmark. Among the letters which had long been await- 
 ing his arrival in Copenhagen, we must mention one, re- 
 markable for its singularity. The Secretary of the His- 
 
 1 The next day it was an excursion to Sans-Souci, the pleasure palace of Christian 
 Frederick, where were assembled all the members of the Academy of Fine Arts, of 
 •which the prince was president. They held a meeting in the forest; after which 
 they went to dine at the Hotel Bellevue, finely situated on the borders of the Sound, 
 a favorite retreat of the citizens of Copenhagen on Sundays in summer. The follow- 
 ing day a more formal meeting took place, at which the Vice-President announced 
 that the Academy had decided to have a medal struck in honor of Thorvaldsen, and 
 bearing his name, which should be given as a prize to the pupils in sculpture. The 
 execution of the medal was entrusted to Professor Christensen. 
 
 As to the city government, it bestowed upon the veteran sculptor the diploma of 
 honorary citizenship. 
 
 The artists who had been in Italy, and who had formed themselves into an associa- 
 tion under the name of the Roman Society, got up a private dinner in honor of the 
 sculptor, who made his appearance decorated with the Order of the Baiocco, having 
 the small copper coin of that name hung round his neck by a green ribbon. At 
 dessert, they did not fail to crown him with laurels. 
 
 Another grand fete took place at Koeskilde, then the seat of the Danish Par- 
 liament. 
 
LIFE OF THOBVALDSEN. 
 
 torical Society of Rhode Island, in North America, wrote 
 to inform the sculptor that the said Society had elected him 
 an honorary member, on account of his being the living 
 representative of the first native American of European 
 blood ; recent researches in American antiquities having 
 est ablished the fact that a certain Thorfinne Karlsefne had, 
 in 1007, commanded an expedition to Rhode Island, and 
 passed the winter at Mount Hope, where his wife Gudrid, 
 the following spring, presented him with a son, who was 
 called Snome. Now this same Snome, according to the 
 genealogists, was one of the ancestors of Thorvaldsen.i 
 "They are wonderful fellows, these savans" said the artist, 
 laughing heartily. " How should we know, without them, 
 whence we come, or whither we go ? " 
 
 Thorvaldsen installed himself at the palace of Charlotten- 
 borg, in an apartment on the ground-floor appropriated to 
 the Academy professor of sculpture. This apartment, the 
 windows of which look out upon the botanical garden, had 
 been ready for him since 1805, though he had occupied it 
 only during a short stay in Copenhagen, in 1819. Before 
 his arrival several rooms had been added to the suite, and 
 the works which he had sent from Italy previous to his own 
 coming were temporarily placed in them. The artist set 
 himself to work to arrange these marbles and plasters, as 
 well as those which came in the " Rota." He even thought 
 of unpacking his rich collection of medals, antique vases, and 
 engraved stones, but he had no time to put in order these 
 numerous possessions. The sculptor no longer belonged to 
 himself: he was the prey of the public. Every day a line 
 of carriages, such as is never seen in Copenhagen except at the 
 theatre on the evenings of some extraordinary performance, 
 was stationed before the door of the Academy. All visitors 
 
 1 The work containing the result of these researches in regard to the History of 
 CToi-th America was published in 1837, under the title of Antiquitates Americance. 
 The genealogical table annexed traces the pedigree of Thorvaldsen. 
 
146 
 
 LIFE OF THOBVALBSEN. 
 
 were received with affability ; but the artist, who never hur- 
 ried himself about completing his toilet, was generall}'' sur- 
 prised in his dressing-gown and slippers. Consequently he 
 passed whole daj^s in this costume, fulfilling the functions of 
 cicerone to his own sculptures. Then every daj^ he was 
 obliged to dine out somewhere, and afterward go to some 
 evening party. ^' I shall sink under it," he said to a 
 friend. 
 
 What annoyed him the most in this kind of life was the 
 impossibility of devoting himself to his work, being at first 
 afraid that he should seem wanting in respect to his visitors, 
 if he received them with moulding-tool or hammer in hand. 
 Later, when he perceived how much pleasure they took in 
 seeing him thus employed, he did not hesitate to continue 
 his work as in Rome ; and little by little his life assumed an 
 aspect more in accordance with his tastes. 
 
 He rose early and breakfasted frugal^, as had long been 
 his habit, on two large tumblers of milk and two small rolls. 
 But he continued to dine out every evening with a new host, 
 without being able to accept all the invitations showered 
 upon him. 
 
 Shortly after his arrival at Copenhagen, the administrative 
 council of the Frue Kirke (Church of our Lady) wished to 
 take advantage of the presence of the artist, who now deter- 
 mined to bring together in this church all his religious works. 
 The " Christ and the Twelve Apostles,"^ the " Preaching of 
 John the Baptist," were not alone to ornament the Frae 
 Kirke. Other great works were also planned : a frieze 
 representing " The Entry of Christ into Jerusalem," - in- 
 
 1 The council notified him that it had devoted to this enterprise the sum of thirty- 
 four thousand Danish crowns, which were at his disposal. The marble statue of 
 ''Christ,-' executed for the royal chapel, cost sixteen thousand crowns. For the 
 '• Ten Apostles," which the sculptor had had cut in marble at his own expense, he 
 was paid two thousand crowns for each. The other two apostles, wliich he had al- 
 ways meant to remodel, were also ordered. 
 The subject was chosen by Thorvaldsen. 
 
LIFE OF THOBVALDSEN. 
 
 147 
 
 tended for the peristyle ; four statues of prophets, to be 
 placed in niches each side of the great entrance ; and marble 
 statues of Luther and Melanchthon, for the porch. ^ 
 
 Thorvaldsen was now in his sixty-eighth 3^ear ; but we for- 
 get his age when we see with what ardor he still projected 
 great works in spite of the obstacles which the exigencies 
 of Danish society threw in the way of their speedy com- 
 IDletion. 
 
 His dail}^ correspondence alone was no small occupation. 
 The artist, as we have seen, had never been in a hurry to 
 read letters any more than to answer them. He was now less 
 disposed than ever to take this trouble upon himself. For- 
 tunately, the Secretary of the Academy, Herr Thiele, his 
 future biographer, a trustworthy friend, and a man of tact 
 and judgment, did this service for him. Herr Thiele exam- 
 ined the correspondence, and gave the artist all the letters 
 that required to be read immediately : the others he classified, 
 and reported upon them periodically. Of this number were 
 all requests for assistance. The ready mone}^ which Thor- 
 valdsen had brought with him from Rome had so rapidly 
 melted awa}^ in charitable gifts, that it soon became neces- 
 sary to renew the supply. But, a second sum taking quickly 
 the same road as the first, the artist was forced, b}" wa}^ of 
 putting some check upon his liberality, to examine carefully 
 the various requests. Upon Herr Thiele, who charged him- 
 self with this work, thus devolved the functions of both sec- 
 retary and treasurer. 
 
 Though in his later years his habits of economy had de- 
 generated into parsimony, Thorvaldsen was ever ready to 
 generously assist the unfortunate. Superficial observers may, 
 with a show of truth, accuse him of avarice ; but they who 
 have known the inmost secrets of his life emphatically deny 
 
 1 The artist was working upon the bust of Luther at the time of his death. After 
 that event, the project of erecting these two statues seems to have been given up. 
 Two only of the statues of prophets were subsequently executed, — David and 
 Moses, — by Messrs. Bissen and Jerichau. 
 
148 
 
 LIFE OF THOBVALDSEN. 
 
 this accusation. No doubt the old man has been heard dis- 
 puting obstinately about the price of a pair of shoes : he 
 has been seen stooping with difficulty to pick up a button. 
 Meanwhile, let a poor woman leave his door satisfied with a 
 generous gift, but showing by her mien and dress a still 
 greater misery than he had at first recognized, and he has- 
 tens to recall her, and place in her hand another handful of 
 crowns. 
 
 Nothing is more natural than this apparent contradiction. 
 Characters are not wholly consistent, and we constantly see 
 in human life contrasts which at first sight appear quite as 
 strange. Thorvaldsen practised that excess of economy very 
 common in old people who have known poverty in their 
 youth, and who, having led a life of labor, have not seen 
 their wants increase with their fortune. Such men are the 
 more to be praised, when, parsimonious for themselves, they 
 give freel}^ of the fruit of their own toil to relieve the unfor- 
 tunate. 
 
 But it was not the indigent alone who had recourse to the 
 artist. As his influence was well known, every one who 
 wanted a favor from the court, the ministers, or men in office, 
 applied to him. He had therefore requests to present, peti- 
 tions to indorse. The merchant, anxious to extend his busi- 
 ness, begged Thorvaldsen to lend him the sum he needed, or 
 be security for him. It was with great difficulty that the 
 master could be dissuaded in sucli cases from lending his 
 name ; for the service seemed to him so easy to render, that 
 he was almost ashamed to refuse ; and, had it not been for 
 the vigilance of his secretary and friend, he would often have 
 become seriously involved in consequence of his willingness 
 to oblige. A royal fortune would hardly have sufficed to 
 satisfy the demands made upon him. 
 
 Ver}^ often, too, he was solicited only ad pompam et osten- 
 tationem, and we might give an entertaining account of all 
 the letters he received from fathers and mothers begging him 
 
LIFE OF THORVALDSEN. 
 
 149 
 
 to stand godfather to their children. He usually consented 
 to assume this responsibilit}^, but generally forgot his prom- 
 ise : he would then make amends b}^ sending some present. 
 
 Finally, all the Thorvaldsens, not onl}^ in the city and its 
 environs, but in the whole kingdom, wrote or came to see 
 him to explain carefully and at length the exact degree of 
 relationship in which they stood to him. The artist was 
 amused by all this, and repulsed no one. Among these im- 
 portunities, the most numerous and least delicate were those 
 addressed to him by people who wished to know when he 
 would return to Italy, as they would like to bear him compan}^ 
 It was evident that they counted on having their expenses 
 paid by so illustrious and generous a travelling-companion ; 
 and they even did not fail to insinuate that on this condition 
 they would be willing to stay several years in the classic 
 land of art. 
 
 With such constant calls upon him, and above all with so 
 many social distractions, it is easy to understand how diffi- 
 cult it was for the artist to devote himself, as much as he 
 liked, to the labor which still made the deepest joy of his 
 life, as it had already made the glory of his name. 
 
 He felt that he could not free himself from all these im- 
 pediments, except by quitting Copenhagen. 
 
 Let us not, however, blame the Danish people for an excess 
 of zeal, under cover of which some annoyances may have 
 been inflicted. If among the multitude of enthusiasts there 
 were some without discretion, where are they not to be found ? 
 Let us rather dwell upon the extraordinary consideration 
 shown to the great artist, the respect paid by his fellow- 
 citizens to his old age. Such homage does no less honor to 
 Denmark than to Thorvaldsen : it indicates the intellectual 
 superiority of the nation, and its sincere fondness for the arts. 
 In what other country do we see great artists so honored ! 
 
WINTER. 
 
LIFE OF TROBVALDSEN. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Baron Von Stampe and his Family. — Thorvaldsen at Nysoe. — His 
 Atelier at Stampeborg. — His Statue of Himself. — " Christ's 
 Entry into Jerusalem." — "Christ bearing the Cross." — The 
 Poet Andersen. — The Grand-Cross of Danebrog. — King Chris- 
 tian VIII. — Statue of Christian IV. — Wilkens. 
 
 THORVALDSEN. 
 
 sen to pass the summer 
 
 Though Thorvaldsen was 
 never married, he was bet- 
 ter fitted for a domestic 
 than a fashionable life ; and 
 before he had resided long 
 in Copenhagen, he came 
 to regard the households 
 where he was kindly wel- 
 comed as his own, and 
 made himself almost as 
 much at home there as in 
 his own apartments. That 
 of the Baron von Stampe 
 was especially attractive to 
 him : the baron and baron- 
 ess had several children ; 
 and the artist, treated by 
 them with respect and af- 
 fection, became, in oneway, 
 a member of the famil3\ 
 They invited Thorvald- 
 at their chateau at Nysoe. The 
 
152 
 
 LIFE OF THOBVALBSFN. 
 
 baron}^ of Stampe is a vast and beautiful domain, distant 
 a quarter of an hour's drive from Proesto. It is situated at 
 the head of a bay bordered by great trees, and is in the midst 
 of a richl}" wooded and farming country. To reach it by sea, 
 from Copenhagen, requires a voyage of six or eight hours in 
 the steamer, and by the land route the distance is still greater ; 
 so that it is quite secure from the incursions of troublesome 
 visitors. Thorvaldsen was glad on more than one account to 
 accept the invitation, seeing in it a means of escaping from 
 duties which, though not without their charms, were still 
 sometimes irksome. 
 
 To beguile the leisure hours of life in the countrj^, he made 
 for his amusement a few sketches in cla^^ The room adjoin- 
 ing the one he occupied on the ground-floor was given up to 
 him for an atelier, and what was at first merel}^ a pastime 
 gradually became a serious occupation, to which he applied 
 himself with all his native ardor. 
 
 Since his return to Denmark, he had been often urged by 
 his friends to model a statue of himself. The Baroness von 
 Stampe had frequently broached the subject to him, but 
 without effect : he invariably refused, maintaining that it was 
 too great a piece of vanity on the part of an artist to make 
 any representation of himself. Profiting, however, by his 
 sojourn at Nysoe, she, by constant perseverance, at length 
 prevailed upon him to block out a small rough model ; but 
 he would do no more, alleging, as a pretext, that it was im- 
 possible to do anything more important in a room which was 
 not high enough for him to work in with ease, and where 
 there was no light from above. It was then that the baron- 
 ess conceived a project which she was very careful not to 
 reveal to her guest. With seeming indifference, she ques- 
 tioned him as to the size and arrangement he would consider 
 indispensable for an atelier, and carefully noted his replies. 
 
 Thorvaldsen had left in Copenhagen an unfinished clay 
 sketch of the celebrated Danish poet Holberg, with instruc- 
 
LIFE OF TIIOBVALBSEIs'. 
 
 153 
 
 tions to one of his pupils to keep it moist. He now thought 
 it time to return thither and complete it. He accordingly 
 left Nysoe, promising to be back in eight da3's. He had 
 scarcely gone, when the baroness sent for a builder and 
 workmen. She chose a suitable place in the garden before 
 the castle ; had, that very da}', three great trees cut down ; 
 and set the men at work to build a small atelier. It was a 
 busy time at Nysoe during that week ; for it had been stipu- 
 lated that, unless everything were finished within the eight 
 days, nothing should be paid. When the artist returned, all 
 was ready. It was a delightful surprise, and the occasion 
 was celebrated by an inaugural fete. This took place in the 
 month of July, 1839. 
 
 The atelier was so arranged that Thorvaldsen had no 
 longer any pretext for not executing his statue : he was 
 therefore obliged to yield He had been working on it sev- 
 eral da3's, very zealousl}^, when he received from Copenhagen 
 a letter from Oehlenschlaeger, whose bust he had promised to 
 take. The poet was very anxious that the artist should fulfil 
 his promise, and urged it vehementlj^, with the vanity of a 
 famous man desirous to leave his features to posterity b}' the 
 hand of an illustrious sculptor. 
 
 Thorvaldsen made merry over this with the baroness ; 
 and, notwithstanding his habitual good-nature, could not 
 help ridiculing the poet a little. But suddenly he stopped 
 laughing, and the letter fell from his hands. "It is very 
 well for me," he said, " to jest at the vanity of others, when 
 I myself, at this \evy moment, am engaged in raising a mon- 
 ument to my own vanity ! " He threw down his tools with 
 violence, and would have broken his statue. The baroness 
 immediately called for help. She dragged the artist out of 
 the atelier, -locked it, and took possession of the 'key. She 
 tried for a few da^'s to convince him that he was wrong, b}' 
 argument, but without success. Finding that, in this way, 
 she obtained nothing, she had recourse to stratagem. We 
 
154 
 
 LTFE OF THORVALDSEN. 
 
 think it is Calderon who somewhere says ; " Weep, woman, 
 and yon will obtain all you wish." The baroness pretended 
 to be very much grieved, and began to cr}'. " Thorvaldsen 
 cared nothing for her ! He knew how much she wanted his 
 statue, — her eagerness to build the atelier proved it, — but 
 nothing could mov^ him. He must have a yqyj hard heart 
 to behave in this way to so devoted a friend." 
 
 The old man, simple as a child, was taken in. Touched 
 by this feigned distress, — "Well," he cried, " they may think 
 what they please. My statue is not for posterity, but I can- 
 not refuse it to a friend to whom it will give so much pleasure." 
 He resumed his work directly, with the greatest ardor, as if 
 he feared a return of his scruples, and finished the model in 
 seventeen days.^ The artist has represented himself in his 
 working dress, one arm leaning upon his statue of " Hope."^ 
 
 Henceforward Thorvaldsen was a constant guest at Stampe- 
 borg, dividing his time between Copenhagen and Nysoe. 
 The first works composed in the atelier built for him b}^ the 
 baroness were — -besides the statue of the master — the bust 
 of the poet Oehlenschlaeger, and the sketch of " Christ's 
 Entry into Jerusalem," a grand frieze, now over the principal 
 entrance of the Frue Kirke in Copenhagen. Between the 
 sketch and the finished work, which was subjected to many 
 changes, there are marked diff'erences. 
 
 Another sketch, no less important, was also made at Nysoe : 
 that of the frieze representing " Christ bearing the Cross." 
 On the preceding feast of Pentecost, the marble statues of 
 the apostles had been set up in the Frue Kirke^ in place of 
 the plaster casts which had before temporarily represented 
 them ; and the statue of Christ was at the same time removed 
 
 1 This anecdote was related to us by the baroness herself, when we had the honor 
 of being received at her country residence, at Nysoe. 
 
 2 In placing beside his portrait statue the archaic figure of his " Hope," Thorvald- 
 Bcn's idea was to make the contrast strongly marked between the man, who was to 
 be represented as living, and the marble statue, which ought, on the contrary, to be 
 cold and motionless. 
 
LIFE OF THORVALDSEJSr. 
 
 155 
 
 from the royal chapel, and placed in front of the choir. When 
 all the statues were in their places in the church, it occurred 
 to the architect Hetsch that a frieze placed in the apsis behind 
 the " Christ" would have an excellent effect, serving to connect 
 these detached pieces of sculpture with the building itself. 
 Thorvaldsen, without troubling himself to ascertain whether 
 the building committee would appropriate the necessary 
 funds, eagerly embraced the suggestion of the architect, and 
 agreed with him that the Passion of Our Lord, of which there 
 was no representation in the church, should be the subject of 
 this frieze. The model, sketched at Nysoe, and now in the 
 Museum, differs in some respects from the frieze in the Fma 
 Kirke, The latter was executed under Thorvaldsen's direc- 
 tion, by young artists in Herr Freund's atelier. 
 
 The poet Andersen, who was a frequent visitor at Stampe- 
 borg, and who happened to be there while Thorvaldsen was 
 occupied with this composition, mentions in his autobiography 
 that, one morning, upon going into the atelier, he saw the 
 artist at work upon the figure of Pilate. Thorvaldsen was 
 dissatisfied with the drapery, and asked Andersen's opinion. 
 The baroness, who was present, and who had a religious 
 respect for everything that came from the sculptor's hand, 
 tried to prevent Andersen from criticising it ; but the latter 
 said frankly that the drapery seemed to him more Egyptian 
 than Roman. " That is exactly my opinion," replied the 
 artist, and immediately destro^^ed the sketch, much to the dis- 
 comfiture of the baroness, Avho felt very angry with the poet. 
 
 Life at Nysoe was of a nature to charm the artist : the 
 days flowed smoothl}' on, in a pleasant alternation of labor 
 and leisure. The master rose earl}^, and, by the time the 
 clock had struck twelve, had frequentl}^ been at work seven 
 hours. He did not like to be interrupted during these busy 
 mornings, but, in the afternoon, was ready to walk in the 
 beautiful woods that bordered the Bay of Proesto, and receive 
 and return the visits of the gentry of the neighborhood. 
 
156 
 
 LIFE OF THOBVALDSEN. 
 
 It was the custom, after dinner, for one of the daughters of 
 the baroness to play for the sculptor his favorite airs. The 
 old man, who was passionately fond of music, would then 
 seat himself in a large arm-chair to listen at his ease, but 
 generally fell asleep. After he had taken his nap, he would 
 walk up and down the room, and end b}^ saying: "Well, 
 Herr Andersen, are not we children to be treated this evening 
 to some little fair}^ tale?" The sculptor greatly enjoyed the 
 poetic and delicate charm of the marvellous semi-jientimental 
 stories in which Andersen excelled. 
 
 When night came he was always impatient to begin his 
 favorite game of loto, which had become a sort of old man's 
 mania with him ; and care was taken b}^ the family at the cas- 
 tle never to deprive him of this amusement. They were 
 even glad to have him alwaj's win, for the^^ knew that ill-luck 
 annoyed him extremely, although they only pla3'ed for the 
 very smallest sums.i 
 
 The month of November, 1837, found Thorvaldsen still at 
 Nysoe. The 19th was his birthday, and the family were 
 making preparations to celebrate it, when he was notified by 
 the Chapter of the Danebrog that the king had conferred 
 upon him the grand cross of the order. Now, according to 
 the statutes, whosoever has attained to this rank in the 
 order must have his coat-of-arms suspended in its proper 
 place in the Knights' Hall, in the palace of Fredericksborg 
 Thorvaldsen had never asked himself, no more than good- 
 man Gottskalk, his father, whether he had a coat-of-arms oi 
 no ; and in fact had none, so far as he knew. But fron? 
 this day he appears to have sometimes given a thought to 
 the matter ; for there have been found scribbled upon frag 
 ments of letters a number of crude beginnings of sketches 
 seeming to relate to this subject, amongst which, it was 
 thought, could be recognized the god Thor, armed with hi? 
 
 ^ We were shown by Madame von Stampe the green silk bag that held the big pen 
 nies, — his winnings at loto, which he gave his servant to keep for him. 
 
LIFE OF THOBVALDSEN. 
 
 ^57 
 
 hammer. They were, after all, merely fugitive ideas, never 
 seriously entertained ; for in 1843 he had not yet sent the 
 armorial bearings asked for. The Chapter reminded him of 
 his neglect, but the artist took no notice of their communi- 
 cation. 
 
 After Thorvaldsen's death, Herr Bissen was called upon 
 to satisf}^ the claim of the Chapter. He made use of the 
 sketches we have mentioned, as suggestions ; and thus it is 
 that the sculptor's shield hangs in the ancient Hall of 
 Knights, amid feudal coats-of-arms, emblazoned with the 
 god of the North, and bearing the device, " Liberty and 
 Love of Country." 
 
 Among the various works upon which the indefatigable 
 old man was engaged during his sojourn at Nysoe was the 
 sketch of a monument to the memor}^ of Frederick VI, 
 King of Denmark, who died the 3d of December, 1839 : the 
 monarch is represented clothed in tlie royal mantle, and 
 seated on a throne. The artist expected the monument to 
 be placed in the garden adjoining the palace of Rosenborg 
 known as the king's garden. 
 
 Below the Castle von Stampe, and close by the atelier 
 built for the sculptor, flows a little stream. Thorvaldsen 
 used to take delight in daily throwing bread to- the swans 
 swimming on its surface, or disporting themselves on its 
 grassy edge. The sight of these majestic birds suggested 
 several compositions, illustrating the myth of Leda, — Jupi- 
 ter changed into a swan and bearing Cupid on his back, 
 Leda welcoming her kingly lover and Cupid flying away. 
 
 Christian VIII, who succeeded Fredericli VI on the throne 
 of Denmark, was anxious to have a statue of his ancestor 
 Christian IV, a prince who had distinguished himself in 
 the Thirty Years' War, and who bore the reputation of a 
 skilful general, in spite of his defeat at Lutter, by Till}^, the 
 lieutenant of Maximilian of Bavaria, then chief of the 
 army of the Catholic league. He subsequentl}^ governed 
 
158 
 
 LIFE OF THORVALDSEN. 
 
 his country wisel}^, sought to promote the happiness of his 
 people, and left behind him a venerated name. 
 
 Thorvaldsen readil}^ promised the king to execute this 
 statue, but, according to his custom, did not hurrj^ himself 
 in fulfilling the engagement. Several times Christian VIII 
 reminded him of his promise ; sometimes b}' his grand-mar- 
 shal, sometimes by his officers, but alwaj^s without success. 
 One evening, meeting at a ball the Baroness von Stampe, 
 the king begged her to use her influence with the artist in 
 his behalf. But the baroness had no better success than her 
 predecessors, and finding her arguments of no avail she 
 again had recourse to a stratagem. 
 
 One day, when the sculptor had gone to walk, she, in his 
 absence, took possession of the atelier, and began to model 
 as well as she could a clay sketch, intended to represent the 
 monarch Upon Thorvaldsen's return, he was astonished at 
 finding the baroness hard at work. " What are you about 
 there?" he asked. "The statue of the king,'' replied the 
 baroness. " Since I have pledged my word, and you will 
 not do it, I must do it myself" 
 
 The artist laughed heartily, and began to criticise the work. 
 " Do it better yourself, then," said the baroness, pretend- 
 ing to be piqued, " you who make fun of me. I defy you to 
 find an3'thing to alter in my statue." Thorvaldsen could not 
 help taking up the clay to correct the proportions. When 
 he had once begun, he finished the sketch, and afterward 
 modelled the statue, ^ which was intended for a marble sar- 
 cophagus in one of the chapels of Roeskilde. It was 
 cast in bronze ; but its destination was afterward changed, 
 and it is now in the little garden of the Rosenborg 
 Palace. 
 
 1 The sketch is in the Museum, but the small plaster model is at Nysoe. The ofla- 
 cer sent by the king to see that the sculptor did not neglect the work expressed one 
 day a wish to have the model. The artist, as an excuse not to give it to him, said he 
 had promised it to Madame von Stampe. He told the story to the baroness, who took 
 him at his word, and possessed herself of the plaster. 
 
LIFE OF THORVALDSFJsr. 
 
 159 
 
 The greater number of the bas-reliefs which bear date of 
 this period^ are signed Nysoe. Thorvaldsen, however, di- 
 vided his time between country life at Stampeborg and town 
 life in Copenhagen. The ladies made it their pleasure to 
 contribute to the adornment of his city home, and scarcely 
 a day passed without his apartments at the Charlottenborg 
 receiving some new embellishment, — an object of art, or 
 some piece of feminine handiwork. 
 
 Everybody in Copenhagen now knew Thorvaldsen, from 
 having visited him in his atelier : but the old man could not 
 recollect the names of so many people, though he remem- 
 bered their faces. He was often very much embarrassed, when 
 obliged to ask to whom he had the honor of speaking. As 
 he was invited everywhere, it sometimes happened that he 
 did not know the name of his host. Herr Thiele relates in 
 this connection the following anecdote : — 
 
 " I went," he saj^s, " with Thorvaldsen, to a grand banquet 
 given by Herr Mosting, Privy Counsellor and Minister of 
 State. When we had left the company, and were coming 
 home together, the master stopped and asked : ' Who is 
 this Herr Steman?' — 'What Herr Steman do you mean?* 
 — ' Why, the man whose house we have just left.' — ' You 
 are mistaken : that is the Minister of State, Herr Mosting.' — 
 ' Eeally I * exclaimed Thorvaldsen, stupefied : ' on my honor, 
 I had no idea of it.' " 
 
 Thanks to his servant, however, the artist at last main- 
 tained a certain method in this business of dining out. At 
 first, he was governed by the fancy of the moment. When 
 
 1 Among others, "Diana imploring Jupiter to allow her to remain a Virgin;" 
 " Cupid and Hygeia," modelled upon the occasion of the nuptial festivities of the 
 King and Queen of Denmark. 
 
 " Perseus delivering Andromeda," a crowded composition, and utterly unlike the 
 artist's usual manner ; " The Pilgrims of Emmaus," for a church in the neighborhood 
 of Stampeborg; " Jesus Blessing Little Children," intended for an infant asylum. 
 
 "The Genius of the New Year," composed for 1 Jan. 1841; "Jesus and the 
 Woman of Samaria;" "Love Sleeping;" "The Sleeping Psyche;" and " Jesus in 
 the Midst of the Doctors." 
 
i6o 
 
 LIFE OF THORVALDSEN. 
 
 the hour drew near, he would look over the papers on his 
 table, and, from among the four or five invitations which he 
 was sure to find there, select one almost by accident. But 
 such a S3'stem had numberless inconveniences ; and, to avoid 
 giving off'ence, Thorvaldsen was obliged to change it. 
 
 Wilkens, his servant, was a faithful, systematic fellow, who 
 knew what was proper. He adopted the plan of writing 
 down all his master's engagements in the order in which the}" 
 were received ; and, after that, when Thorvaldsen was urged 
 to accept a verbal invitation, he would repl}- : "I cannot 
 promise. See Wilkens : he will tell you whether I am disen- 
 gaged. You must arrange it with him." The servant thus 
 became a person of consequence. Great lords intrigued for 
 the first place on his list : they flattered him and offered him 
 monej^, but nothing could alter the legitimate order. Wil- 
 kens was an honest man, a slave to truth, and absolutely 
 incorruptible. 
 
 In consequence of this arrangement, people frequently did 
 not apply to the artist when they desired his compan}- at 
 dinner. They simply wrote their names on the servant's list. 
 When the hour came, and while Wilkens was helping him 
 dress, Thorvaldsen would ask, " Where am I going to dine 
 to-day ? " and as Wilkens always went with him, and came 
 for him, it often happened that the old master, if he had neg- 
 lected to inform himself beforehand, did not know who it 
 was with whom he was dining. So true it is that great 
 artists, as well as true poets, are very much like children, in 
 that the}" easily allow themselves to be guided by others. 
 Living, as they do, in a world of thought and imagination, 
 they often behave with the naivete of childhood when forced 
 to descend to the level of ever3^-day life. 
 
 Upon one occasion, Thorvaldsen received an invitation 
 from the king himself. His majesty had come with the queen 
 to the atelier, to see the model of the statue of Christian IV, 
 to which Thorvaldsen was putting the finishing touches. 
 
LIFE OF THOBVALDSEN-. 
 
 I6l 
 
 " Herr Counsellor," said the sovereign, graciously, as he was 
 eaving, " I engage you to dine with me next Thursday." 
 The artist gave an interrogative glance at Wilkens, who 
 stood by the door. The poor servant, red with embarrass- 
 ment, dared not reply. "Can I accept?" said his master 
 to him: "is there an}' impediment?" Wilkens then com- 
 mitted the imprudence of pronouncing the name of CErsted. 
 "That's true," quickly replied the artist; and, turning 
 toward the king, — "Your Majesty must deign to excuse 
 me. I really cannot accept. Thursday happens to be the 
 day of OErsted's fete, and I have positively promised to go 
 to Roeskilde." While the courtiers were half scandalized 
 at this reply, the king said, with a kind smile, " I am very 
 sorry, but I hope to be more fortunate another time." 
 
 When Wilkens, according to his custom, had come for 
 his master to the house where he had dined, there gen- 
 erally ensued a series of nocturnal peregrinations through 
 the streets of the city ; for dinners could not satisfy every- 
 body, and Thorvaldsen was also obliged to present himself 
 at evening parties. He frequently attended two or three of 
 an evening, while his servant waited for him ; but if the artist 
 were delayed, they were apt to enter the last house on their 
 list just as all the other guests were leaving it. If, for fear 
 of the same thing occurring two nights running, his domes- 
 tic observed respectfully that everything went wrong the 
 night before, Thorvaldsen, to console his faithful servant, 
 would reply : " That is true, — we did arrive very late ; but, 
 at all events, we kept our word." 
 
 Among his constant visitors was an old man of unpre- 
 tending exterior, who was in the habit of coming to see him 
 almost every Sunday. Thorvaldsen always gave him a cor- 
 dial welcome, made him sit by him on his sofa, where the 
 two had a long and friendly conversation. Did the artist 
 really enjoy this man's societ}^ ? It is hard to say, though 
 he did not fail to appear pleased. How much his visitor 
 
l62 
 
 LIFE OF THOEVALDSEN. 
 
 enjoyed himself was easil}" seen from the beaming expression 
 of his countenance. 
 
 One Sunday, when the old man had gone, the sculptor 
 asked his servant if he knew him ; and, upon Wilkens repiymg 
 in the negative, he told him that his name was Thorvaldsen ; 
 that he was an Icelander by birth, and toll-keeper of the 
 Knippel bridge in Copenhagen. "Perhaps he wants some 
 assistance?" said Wilkens. " Not at all : he assures me that 
 he is in need of nothing, — wants absolutely nothing ; but he 
 thinks he is a relative of mine, which delights him greatl}'^ 
 and he takes pleasure in coming to see me. Let him come 
 as much as he likes — the worthy man ! I shall take good 
 care not to undeceive him, since this mistaken belief makes 
 him happy." 
 
 Unfortunately, Thorvaldsen's fits of melancholy sometimes 
 impaired his kindness of heart. These moods, rare in his 
 3^outh, became frequent in his old age, and were apparently 
 almost causeless. At these times, his thoughts went back 
 with pertinacity to those occasions in his life when he had 
 been robbed, or been the victim of deception ; and he would 
 become misanthropical past all endurance. His habit was to 
 ensconce himself gloomily in a corner of the sofa, and refuse 
 to see any one. Even his art was distasteful to him. All 
 efforts to rouse him from this unhappy state were useless, and 
 in vain were his poor servant's endeavors to make him take 
 some recreation. But, as soon as these melancholy fancies 
 were dissipated, he felt sorry for whatever harsh words he 
 might have uttered, and did his best to make amends. 
 
 The faithful Wilkens watched carefully over his master's 
 health. He would have had him go out oftener in the day- 
 time, and less frequently at night. After working hard all 
 the morning, the old man required out-of-door exercise, 
 which he took regularly at Nysoe, but not in Copenhagen. 
 There, he always needed some inducement to go out, and 
 to have one always read}^ taxed Wilkens's ingenuity to the 
 
LIFE OF THORVALDSEN. 
 
 utmost. If he could propose a visit to the atelier of an artist, 
 success was almost certain ; and, when once he was able to 
 get his master out, he would contrive to take the longest 
 way home. He frequently managed to pass through the 
 street in which Thorvaldsen had lived in his boyhood, and 
 then the old man wonld stop before No. 226, Aabenraa, — 
 the house wherv he had resided with his parents before he 
 went to Rome, — and look at it from top to bottom, point out 
 to Wilkens the windows of his parents' chamber on the first 
 floor, and that of the little closet where he liad spent so 
 many nights at work. One day, his servant, thinking that 
 he would no doubt like to go into these rooms, proposed that 
 they should enter the house ; but hardly had the timid old 
 man taken a step forward, when he turned hastily. " No," 
 said he, "let us go. The}^ will take us for suspicious charac- 
 ters." Suspicious himself, he thought naturally that other 
 people were equally so. 
 
 The robbery in Rome, of which he had been the victim, had 
 increased this natural distrust ; and when he came to live in 
 Copenhagen, he had had made a strong iron safe, to hold his 
 collection of small valuables. For a long time it remained 
 in his room unused, until, one day, Wilkens proposed to put 
 the things into it. " No," said the old man, with a cunning 
 smile, " all those things are very well where they are. Let 
 them be. It would be a good joke if the thieves should come 
 into my room and carry off the iron safe. I wonder who 
 would be taken in then, the}" or I ? " 
 
 This distrust was in part the cause of his parsimony ; ren- 
 dering him all the more difficult in his dealings with trades- 
 people He had once a serious quarrel with a tailor whose 
 bill he thought exorbitant. A misunderstanding in the dis- 
 cussion caused him to think that his confidence had been 
 abused, and in his anger he uttered the word " cheating." The 
 tailor, an honest man, was very much hurt, and went away 
 saying that he would take nothing for his work. Struck by 
 
164 
 
 LIFE OF THORVALDSEJSr, 
 
 the dignified tone of the man, the artist called his servant, 
 who explained the mistake. " Wilkens, this man is right," 
 said Thorvaldsen, " and I owe him an apology. Let us go 
 to him at once : " which he did, Thorvaldsen apologizing so 
 heartily that the tailor was quite overcome. To make amends, 
 he ordered on the spot a quantity of clothing which other- 
 wise he would not have thought of getting ; for he attached 
 no importance to dress, and was never disposed to renew his 
 wardrobe. His negligence in this respect was the despair 
 of his servant, who had a keen sense of what befitted the 
 dignity of the counsellor. 
 
 To aid a poor painter, the sculptor would pa}^ three times 
 the value of a picture.^ Such generosity seemed to him the 
 most natural thing in the world ; but if Wilkens should say 
 to him a few moments afterward, " The shoes of Herr Coun- 
 sellor are so worn that the white lining shows," he would 
 reply,— 
 
 " You have only to put on a little ink and it won't be 
 seen." 
 
 " But, Herr Counsellor, that would look odd." 
 
 "Odd! does it hurt anj-body? Has anyone a right to 
 prevent me?" the old man would rejoin, getting very angry. 
 
 The following anecdote is a still better illustration of the 
 extreme concern of the worthy Wilkens for his master's 
 dignity. 
 
 The artist had always been fond of the theatre, but the 
 late dinners in Copenhagen entirely deprived him of this 
 amusement. In order to enjoy greater liberty in this respect, 
 he determined that as a rule he would dine at home if Wil- 
 kens's wife would prepare the meals. The honest couple tried 
 so hard to please him, that he feared he was giving too much 
 trouble ; and this fancy so disturbed him, that he devised a 
 plan which in his simplicity he imagined would work well. 
 
 1 It is to Buch liberality we must attribute the number of mediocre pictures in the 
 nollection of the master. 
 
LIFE OF THORVALDSEN. 
 
 165 
 
 He accordingly hinted to his servant that his wife would find 
 it less inconvenient if they all took their meals together ; an 
 arrangement which seemed to him the more feasible as thej^ 
 also lodged in the palace. But Wilkens, with his respect for 
 propriet}", could not for a moment consider so monstrous a 
 proposition, and tried by various pretexts to evade it. When 
 Thorvaldsen proposed it more plainl}^, he opposed it chiefl}^ 
 on the ground of the difference of hours, as his wife and he 
 dined much too early. " If that is all," replied the old man, 
 " the thing is soon settled : let us compromise the matter. 
 You dine a little later, and I a little earlier, and then we shall 
 agree." Driven to the wall, Wilkens was finally obliged to 
 give the true reason for his opposition. " What will the 
 world think," he said, " when it hears that the counsellor dines 
 with his servant ? " 
 
 " The world ! the world ! " exclaimed Thorvaldsen. " There 
 you are again with your world. Have I not told you a thou- 
 sand times that I care nothing for what it thinks a bout such 
 matters? Am I not free to live as I please? And besides, 
 Wilkens, I consider that you are quite as good at 3'our busi- 
 ness as I am at mine ; " and the master was so much offended 
 that for several days he would not speak to his servant. 
 
 This indifference to social distinctions shows not only the 
 simplicity of the artist's character, but how little he was 
 elated by his great success in life. A king was his friend ; 
 had been, in Rome, almost his comrade. He had sat at the 
 tables of the great, of princes, and of crowned heads, — had 
 appeared at advantage there, — yet it seemed also very natu- 
 ral to him to sit at that of his faithful and honest Wilkens. 
 
 If he esteemed him, what mattered the rank?" 
 
 He still went into society, where his fame, his fine appear- 
 ance, affability, and honorable character won for him uni- 
 versal good-will. Women were pleased with the courteous 
 manners of this old man, whose long white hair so well set 
 off his regular features, with their sweet and gracious exprcs- 
 
1 66 LIFE OF THOBVALBSEN. 
 
 sion. Above all, they liked to see him in his atelier, walking 
 about in a long gray dressing-gown, and a black velvet cap 
 on his white head. 
 
 When he was obliged to present himself at court, or at 
 the house of one of the ministers, to select the decorations 
 he should wear became a matter of much perplexity. His 
 crosses and stars were so numerous that it was impossible to 
 place them all on his breast. Nevertheless, he did not attach 
 any undue importance to these distinctions. To him the}^ 
 were simply a collection,^ interesting merel}^ in the same way 
 as his engraved stones and medals. These flattering marks 
 of the esteem of kings had not made him vain, an}' more 
 than fame and fortune had made him proud. His simplicity 
 of character he retained to the last. If he sometimes spoke 
 of his favorite works — though this was very rare — with a 
 just appreciation of their value, he never did so in a con- 
 ceited manner. As to the works of other artists, he was ever 
 ready to admire and praise them sincerely : his complaisance 
 in this respect was not politic, but real. If a work of art 
 showed any spark of genius, he discovered it at the first 
 glance, and took pleasure in pointing it out to others. The 
 fits of misanthropy to which he was subject, and which ob- 
 scured for the time his kindliness of heart, might render him 
 unjust to his fellow-men, and mislead him as to their worth 
 and character ; but they never prevented his recognizing the 
 talent of any artist or the merit of his work. 
 
 This fact proves that his misanthropy was an extraneous, 
 not an inherent qualit}^, and also that the jealousy of which 
 artists are so often accused was entirel}^ foreign to his nature. 
 It always pleased the master when he could be useful to his 
 brother artists ; and numerous instances might be given of 
 his kind disinterestedness. Here is one among a thousand : 
 
 ^ They were all arranged in one casket ; and though he would never have thought 
 of displaying them to persons of his own sex, he sometimes amused himself by show- 
 ing them as pretty trinkets to ladies who visited him. 
 
LIFE OF THOBVALDSEN. 
 
 167 
 
 The King of Prussia gave a commission for a statue to Thor- 
 valdsen. " Sire," replied he, " there is at this moment in Rome 
 one of your , faithful subjects, who is more capable than I of 
 performing to your satisfaction the task with which jo\x deign 
 to honor me : permit me to solicit for him your royal favor." 
 The sculptor thus recommended was Rodolph Schadow, who 
 was then in embarrassed circumstances. By this act of kind- 
 ness on Thorvaldsen's part, he received the commission, and 
 executed a charming work, called " The Spinner." 
 
THE GENIUS OF DEATH. 
 
LIFE OF THOBVALBSEN. 
 
 169 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 Departure for Rome. — Reception at Berlin, Dresden, Leipsic, Frank- 
 fort, Mayence, and Stuttgart. — Banquet given at Munich. — 
 "La Societe des Hommes sans Gene." — Visit to King Louis. — 
 Sojourn in Rome. — Return to Denraarlv. — The Artist and his 
 Museum.— "The Genius of Sculpture."— Death of Thorvaldsen. 
 — His Funeral. 
 
 Thorvaldsen had come 
 back to his native coun- 
 try with the intention of 
 ending his career in Den- 
 mark ; but, on leaving 
 Rome, he had promised 
 himself that he would 
 return once more, were 
 It only to make a brief 
 sta}^, to the city where the 
 most important period of 
 his life had been passed. 
 Some unfinished works 
 were awaiting him in his 
 old atelier, around which 
 clustered the memories 
 of fort3^-two years of his 
 prolific artistic life. 
 Only an opportunity was needed to decide him to under- 
 take the journey; and this the sculptor found when the 
 Baron v^on Stampe announced his intention of going to Italy 
 
 THE ANGEL OF BAPTISM. 
 
LIFE OF TIIOBVALDSEX. 
 
 with his familj^ The friends resolved to travel in company 
 across the continent ; Thorvaldsen wishing to see again those 
 of his works which now ornamented the public squares of 
 some of the larger cities of German}'. The}^ ' set out the 
 21st of May, 1841. 
 
 The extraordinary festivities occasioned by the artist's 
 return to his country find a natural exi3lanation in the just 
 admiration of compatriots for a fame which flattered their 
 national pride. The ovations following one upon another 
 during the whole journey of the Danish sculptor through 
 Germany present a spectacle which to-day may appear 
 strange ^ 
 
 In Berlin, the royal family invited Thorvaldsen to pass the 
 evening at the Chateau Schonhausen (May 30, 1841). A few 
 days later (June 3), the artists of that cit}^ gave him a grand 
 banquet at Jagor's restaurant, when, to show unmistakably 
 that he is the hero of the occasion, the}^ place his bust in a 
 bower of green leaves, together with Ranch's famous statue 
 of Victory, so arranged that the goddess seems to be setting 
 her crown upon Thorvaldsen's head. 
 
 In Dresden, the King of Saxony hastened to invite him 
 to be present at a special performance at the new theatre 
 (June 12). A court carriage came for him at the hotel and 
 took him to the theatre, where he had a seat in the royal 
 box. Hardly does he appear when all present welcome him 
 with cheers ; and, as if this were not enough, at the end of 
 the play the curtain again rises, and, by way of epilogue, an 
 actress comes forward to salute him in the name of dramatic 
 art. 
 
 Mendelssohn, whom we have lately seen arriving in Rome, 
 young and buoyant, and delighting the sculptor by playing 
 the piano in his atelier, was now living in Leipsic. Thor- 
 valdsen remembered this on arriving in that town, and the 
 
 1 " The Kunstblatt" of 1841 has published the most circumstantial account of this 
 journey through Germany. 
 
LIFE OF THOBVALDSEJSr. 
 
 171 
 
 composer was overjoj^ed by a visit from his old friend. He 
 arranged a musical fete in his honor, followed by a banquet 
 at the Hotel de JSaxe, while in the evening students carrying 
 torches came singing in chorus under the artist's windows. 
 
 From Leipsic Thorvaldsen went to see Goethe's monu- 
 ment at Frankfort, and Gutenberg's at Ma3'ence. He ar- 
 rived at the latter city in the evening (June 29th). The 
 municipality, apprised of the presence of the sculptor, 
 escort him to the sound of music, and by the light of 
 torches. The next day the president of the grand-ducal 
 government of Hesse comes for him with a numerous suite 
 to conduct him to the statue of the Inventor of Printing : 
 the monument is decorated for the occasion with garlands, 
 the square is filled with people, speeches and cheers abound. 
 The following day the theatre gave a special performance in 
 honor of " the honorary citizen of the cit}", the Chevalier 
 Thorvaldsen." 
 
 At Stuttgart there were similar ovations. The Square in 
 which stands the Schiller monument was illuminated with 
 Bengal lights on the night of the master's arrival (July 6th) ; 
 and he was serenaded by the Society of Friends of Song, 
 and enthusiastically cheered b}^ the crowd. Earlj^ the next 
 day a deputation from the magistrates and the college of 
 burghers came to pay their respects to the man who had en- 
 dowed the city with so fine a monument, and to present him 
 with the thanks of the corporation. The diploma of honor- 
 ary citizenship is given him the following day at a grand re- 
 past at Silberbourg Palace. At midnight all the company 
 form a torchlight procession, and conduct him back to his 
 hotel. 
 
 Thorvaldsen now proceeded to Munich, where he saw 
 again his statue of Maximilian I in the Wittelsbachplatz. 
 There is in this city a club of savans, who call themselves 
 JSociete des Hommes sans Gene, They gave the sculptor (July 
 I5th) a banquet in a truly characteristic German style. 
 
1/2 
 
 LIFE OF THOBVALDSEN. 
 
 One of the members, Schelliiig, begins by wishing the 
 artist a long life. So far there is nothing out of the waj^ ; 
 but now follows a series of Germanic eccentricities. Mar- 
 tins calls upon the spirits of nature and tropical heat (it was 
 the month of July) to glorify this happy day. Steiglitz 
 chants in Greek verses the joy of les liommes sans gene, 
 at having among them a master in classic art. A dead lan- 
 guage will not serve the orientalist Naumann : he celebrates 
 the fame of Thorvaldsen in five living languages succes- 
 sively, — German, English, French, Armenian, and Chinese! 
 It was a great honor, to be sure, for the sculptor, who made 
 no pretensions to being a savant. But this is not all : a dis- 
 course follows, much enjoyed and applauded, in which the 
 orator, treating of art and industry, portrays " the wonder- 
 ful and laughable quarrel of Thorvaldsen with the devil." 
 (What had the devil to do in the business?) Weichsel- 
 brenner is more serious : he delivers an essay on the artist's 
 works, passing them all in review, and rapidly sketching the 
 story of his life. 
 
 Is this all ? Not quite ! The biographer from whom we 
 borrow these particulars states that Forster proposed a 
 toast in rhyme " to the wine-cask crowned with m3Ttle and 
 laurel, always full of fine and generous wines," &c. But 
 enough of this. Nevertheless, we have not come to the end 
 of the chapter of eccentricities. The traveller was allowed 
 s(arcel3^ time to breiithe. The Society of Friends of the 
 Arts, two days afterward, organized a fete where allegory was 
 the order of the day. In a m34hological interlude, Mercury 
 appears enveloped in a fur mantle, in ironical allusion to 
 the heat of the weather, and announces that the " Final 
 Judgment," a burlesque in one act, in prose, is now to be 
 represented. It relates to a quarrel supposed to be going on 
 between difl'erent cities, as to which has the right to claim 
 Thorvaldsen. Schiller pleads the cause of Stuttgart, Guten- 
 berg of Mayence. Maximilian I advances on horseback as the 
 
LIFE OF THORVALDSEJSr. 
 
 173 
 
 advocate of Munich. Christian IV, the champion of Copen- 
 hagen, is not disposed to 3 ield his rights. Nor are orators 
 wanting to maintain those of Rome, Warsaw, and other 
 cities. But now Juno, who sits beside Jupiter, grows so ex- 
 cited in listening to this debate, that she takes part in it her- 
 self, and declares that Olympus ought rather to claim so 
 great an artist. The king of gods knits his awful brow, 
 the quarrel angers him : in a tremendous voice he pro- 
 nounces his decision, Thorvaldsen belongs to the whole 
 universe ! " 
 
 King Louis, the master's illustrious friend, was no.t at this 
 time in Munich, but at the baths of Brtickenau. As soon as 
 he was informed of Thorvaldsen's arrival, he hastened to 
 write to him, July 17, 1841. 
 
 " I have most earnestly desired to see again at Munich my old and 
 excellent friend Thorvaldsen, the greatest of all the sculptors since 
 the most flourishing times of Greece, and to do him the honors of my 
 capital, where the most beautiful monument which has come from his 
 hands excites general admiration. The equestrian statue of the 
 elector Maximilian I has never been surpassed. 
 
 " Not being able to give you in person the cross of the Order of 
 Merit of St. Michael which I proposed to confer upon you, I have 
 ordered the minister of my household and of foreign affairs to pre- 
 sent it to you. Pray accept it as a token of the good intentions of 
 him who knows how to appreciate what the world owes to you." 
 
 Thorvaldsen was unwilling to leave Bavaria without see- 
 ing King Louis ; and this prince having shortly after repaired 
 to his castle of Hohenschwangau in the T3T0I, the sculp- 
 tor hastened there to visit the royal family. He had just 
 received a very friendly letter from the King of Denmark, 
 charging him to present his compliments to his old friend the 
 King of Bavaria. These- two princes, in their youth, had 
 become acquainted at Rome. 
 
 The triumphal journey of the artist through Germany had 
 greatl}^ fatigued him : entering Switzerland by Lindau, he 
 
174 
 
 LIFE OF THOBVALDSEN. 
 
 went to Zurich and Lucerne, and stayed a month in that 
 neighborhood, to rest awhile before crossing the St. Gothard 
 into Italy. He merely passed through Milan, Genoa, and 
 Leghorn, and remained onty two days in Florence, in spite 
 of the cordial reception he received from the artists in that 
 cit}^ The 12th September he arrived in Rome. 
 
 The next day, a deputation, headed by the president, the 
 ex-president, and vice-president of the Academy of St. Luke, 
 came to offer him the congratulations of the artists in Rome. 
 His return was also celebrated, some da^'s later, by a grand 
 banquet. The first two months of Thorvaldsen's visit were 
 entirely taken up in renewing his intercourse with old friends. 
 His health was not so much benefited by the climate of Ital^^ 
 as he had hoped ; and he was troubled for the first time with 
 pain in his chest, which aff'ected him seriously enough to occa- 
 sion the following remark, in a letter written November 8th, 
 1841 : " Thorvaldsen thinks he is attacked by phthisis, and 
 that he will die of it." It was under this impression that he 
 made up his mind to return, the following spring, to Copen 
 hagen. He prolonged his sta}", however, be3^ond that time, 
 passing the greater part of the year 1842 in Rome, and not 
 returning to Denmark until October. 
 
 He was, during the interval, principall}'- occupied with his 
 religious works, — among others, a series of small bas-reliefs 
 illustrative of the life of Christ : " The Adoration of the 
 Shepherds," "The Flight into Eg3^yt," " Jesus in the Midst 
 of the Doctors," "The Baptism of Christ," "Christ's Entry 
 into Jerusalem." 
 
 These subjects must have been intended to form part of 3 
 more complete series, as drawings have been found, made a\ 
 the same period, and now preserved in the museum, repre- 
 senting " The Marriage of the Virgin," " Joseph's Dream,'* 
 " The Adoration of the Magi," "The Circumcision," "The 
 Resurrection," "The Daughter of Jairus," " Jesus tempted by 
 the Devil," "The Buj crs and Sellers driven from the Temple," 
 
LIFE OF THOBVALDSEN,^ 
 
 1/5 
 
 ' The Canaanite Woman," " The Treason of Judas," " The 
 Entombment." 
 
 The model for a new group of " The Three Graces," or- 
 dered by the King of Wurtemburg, was also made in Rome, 
 [t differs in many respects from the one already mentioned. 
 
 Thorvaldsen was long in deciding upon the route he should 
 /ake in returning home. The fear of new ovations, or, as 
 Jie wrote, " the annoyance of exhibiting one's self all through 
 Europe, like a curious animal," made him think of going by 
 sea. Then he changed his mind : he would cross France to 
 see Paris, going from Leghorn to Marseilles, and re-embarking 
 at Havre. But this plan was again modified. During the 
 voyage from Leghorn to Marseilles, he reflected that, if he 
 went b}" wa}^ of Paris, he should find himself tempted to 
 remain there some time, in order to see properl}^ that great 
 city, where he had never been. On the other hand, he was 
 anxious to get back to Copenhagen, for he had heard that 
 his museum was finished. Determined by this last consid- 
 eration not to prolong his absence, he stopped two days only 
 at Marseilles (5th to 7th of October, 1842), and went thence 
 directl}^ to Strasbourg. 
 
 Passing rapidly through Manheim, Mayence, Frankfort, 
 Cassel, Hanover, and Hamburg, he arrived at Kiel, where a 
 frigate of the rojsl navy, the " Frederick VI," was waiting to 
 convey him to Copenhagen. His first care upon arriving 
 was to go to his museum, which had been built according to 
 the plans of the architect Bindesboll. A public subscription 
 defrayed the greater part of the expense ; and the cit}^, with 
 the royal approbation, made up the rest. The edifice was 
 begun in 1839 ; and the exterior, including the roof, was fin- 
 ished in 1841. 
 
 It was here that the city council and the committee of 
 public works received Thorvaldsen, the day after his return. 
 He went over the whole of the great building, which had 
 been hung with garlands for the occasion, expressing every- 
 
1/6 
 
 LIFE OF THOBVALDSEN. 
 
 where the liveliest interest, until he reached the inner court, 
 the spot where he was one day to be buried, — for the edifice 
 erected to perpetuate his fame was also to be his tomb, — 
 and to those present it seemed as if the future had already 
 begun for the master. The sculptured marble alone was to 
 remain, the man was to return to the dust. Bending toward 
 the earth his venerable head, the old man remained for a few 
 moments absorbed in thought ; but soon the artist roused 
 himself and walked on with head erect. Yes : he would live 
 again in his works, which were all to stand there around his 
 mortal ashes, ever living witnesses of his immortal genius. 
 Did such thoughts pass through his mind ? Those around 
 him were filled with emotion, but no one dared question 
 him. 
 
 Thorvaldsen was now in his seventy-second year. His 
 mind had lost none of its power : there was still the same 
 productive energy, the same creative facility. His execution 
 alone was unequal. Henceforward we find no longer in his 
 modelling that perfect finish which excites our admiration in 
 a great number of his former works ; especially in those exe- 
 cuted in Rome, in the fulness of his power and of his fame. 
 It would not be just, therefore, to judge the artist by his last 
 productions, though many of them are still worthy of his 
 genius : for instance, the colossal bust of Frederick VI, made 
 for the monument erected to this prince in Jutland, on the 
 hill upon which stands the Chateau Skanderborg, and the 
 four bas-reliefs ornamenting the pedestal, — The Abolition 
 of Serfdom," " The Institution of the Provincial States," 
 " The Protection of Science and the Arts," " The Adminis- 
 tration of Justice." 
 
 A charming medallion, representing the angels keeping 
 Christmas in heaven, also belongs to the end of the ye&v 
 1842. The King of Denmark was so delighted with it that 
 he ordered directly a copy in marble. The bust of the Bar- 
 oness von Stampe is of the same period. 
 
mFE OF THORVALDSEJSr. 
 
 177 
 
 The following year, the artist executed the model for the 
 colossal statue of Hercules. In spite of the imperfections of 
 this work, the vigor of mind it displays, considering the mas- 
 ter's age, is astonishing. He also made the sketch for the 
 statue of -^sculapius, intended as a companion to the above. 
 Both were cast in bronze, for the facade of the roj^al palace 
 of Christiansborg, in Copenhagen. 1 
 
 A number of medallions appeared at the same time, — 
 the Genii of Sculpture, Painting, Architecture, Poetr}', and 
 Harmony ; afterward, " The Three Genii of the Arts of 
 Design." In 1844 the artist made repetitions, varied, of 
 most of these works. 
 
 But we must mention particularly, on account of the atten- 
 tion it excited in Denmark, a more important composition, 
 the bas-relief known as " The Genius of Peace." The Genius 
 is kneeling, holding a dish, out of which a lion and an eagle 
 are eating together, while beside him is a dog. This was 
 thought to be an allusion to the approaching marriage of 
 the prince royal of Denmark to a Russian grand-duchess, 
 and was mentioned in the political journals. Wilkens ha^ang 
 reported their comments to his master, — Since it is so," 
 said Thorvaldsen, " I shall add the Phr3'gian cap to my com- 
 position ; " and the same day he placed this emblem on the 
 head of the allegorical figure, and also on a liberty-tree. 
 
 Among the figures representing genii, by means of which 
 he was accustomed, in his later years, to symbolize philo- 
 sophic ideas and the various phases of art, the Genius of 
 Sculpture naturally interested him more than any other. 
 At Nysoe, in 1843, he had portrayed him seated before a bas- 
 relief representing the birth of Minerva, — thought springing 
 from the brain and taking form. But this composition, though 
 a happy one, had not satisfied him ; and he returned once more 
 to this subject, placing the Genius on the eagle's back, at the 
 
 » See Catalogue. 
 
178 
 
 LIFE OF THOBVALBSEN, 
 
 foot of the statue of Jupiter. This new bas-relief pleased 
 him no better ; and the 20th of March, 1844, he drew in chalk 
 on a slate a third design, now in the Copenhagen Museum, 
 in which the Genius, with the audacity of conscious power, 
 is perched upon the shoulder of Olympian JoA^e himself. 
 This was the sculptor's last composition, for we have now 
 reached the end of this long and prolific career. 
 
 At about five o'clock in the morning of Sunday, March 
 24th, the artist, feeling unwell, rang for his servant. He had 
 passed a bad night, and had not been able to sleep. Wilkens 
 tried to calm him, begging him, however, to keep his bed. 
 But he rose, took a book, and settled himself upon his sofa ; 
 and soon afterward, overcome with fatigue, fell asleep. When 
 he awoke, at about eight o'clock, he took his glass of milk 
 and roll as usual, and passed the whole morning in work. 
 
 The Baroness von Stampe having invited him to dinner, 
 he excused himself, and replied that he intended to stay at 
 home. This lady came to press her invitation, and found 
 him occupied in modelling the bust of Luther. He 3ielded 
 to her entreaties, and laid down before the bust his handful 
 of clay, thrusting into it his moulding-tool. The unfinished 
 w^ork is preserved under glass in the Museum, and the impress 
 of the master's hand on the morsel of clay is still visible. 
 
 He left the house with Madame von Stampe, paid a few 
 visits, and went to the baron's to dine. He talked gayly, was 
 amused b}' a humorous article in a newspaper, and said sport- 
 ively, in speaking of his museum, " Now I can die when I 
 choose, — BindesboU has finished m}^ tomb." A few moments 
 afterward, on his wa}^ to the theatre, he met this architect, 
 and they exchanged a friendly greeting. 
 
 One year precisely before this epoch, the poet Andersen, 
 greatly moved by the news of a recent tragic occ*arrence, 
 came to relate it to Thorvaldsen. Admiral Wulff, celebrated 
 in Denmark as the translator of Shakespeare and B^Ton, was 
 taken ill at the Theatre Eoyal during the play. He was driven 
 
LIFE OF THOBVALBSEN. 
 
 179 
 
 home in a carriage, but upon arriving at his door was found 
 dead by the driver. " Well," exclaimed the sculptor, with 
 an energy which amazed Andersen, " is not that an admira- 
 ble way to die, and one to be envied ? " ^ 
 
 It was just a year from that time that Andersen met the 
 artist on his way to the theatre. Thorvaldsen urged him to 
 come with him ; but the poet, impatient to commit to writing 
 some new work of his imagination, refused. Thorvaldsen 
 entered the theatre alone, and took his usual seat in the par- 
 quet. A lady, coming in afterward, was obliged to pass before 
 him. In order to make room, he rose ; and the lad}^, turning 
 to thank him, saw him stooping down. " Have you lost any- 
 thing, sir?" she asked. Thorvaldsen did not reply. It was 
 now seen that he was ill, and people ran to his assistance. 
 He was carried in great haste to the Charlottenborg Palace, 
 which adjoins the theatre, and laid on his sofa. A physician 
 hastened to open a vein ; but no blood came. The great 
 artist had ceased to live. 
 
 The next day the sad news spread quickly through the 
 whole city, filling it with dismay. The funeral ceremonies 
 took place on Saturday, March 30, 1844, and were marked by 
 a royal pomp. The whole nation, so to speak, followed the 
 venerated master to the tomb. He was laid in state, in 
 the hall of antique sculpture in the Charlottenborg Palace. 
 There, in a coffin richly decorated with wreaths, ^ with face 
 uncovered, and brow crowned with laurel, he lay, surrounded 
 by the masterpieces of ancient Greece, whose spirit lived 
 again in his works. 
 
 It was here that the deputations met to join the friends of 
 the deceased. When they were all assembled, the artists 
 intoned the chant of farewell, and the coffin was closed. On 
 its lid was engraved the master's statue of himself : on the 
 
 1 We had this anecdote from Herr Andersen himself, when we called upon him in 
 Copenhagen. 
 
 2To M. Dotezac, French Minister to Copenhagen, who was present at the cere- 
 mony, I am indebted for some of these details. 
 
i8o 
 
 LIFE OF THORVALDSEN. 
 
 pall lay his chisel, amid branches of laurel and palm. Among 
 the wreaths was one of flowers, woven by the Queen of 
 Denmark. 
 
 A doctor of theology, Professor Clausen, delivered an 
 address, and the procession began its march through the 
 New Market, East Street, Amakplads, Vimmelskaftet, and 
 New Streets. Every house was hung with black, the crowd 
 was grave and silent ; not a sound was heard, save the tolling 
 of the funeral knell from the towers of all the churches, and 
 the chanting of choirs stationed in the belfries. 
 
 From the windows, women cast flowers before the coffin, 
 borne by fortj' artists. As soon as the cortege approached 
 the Frue Kirke, the king in person, accompanied by the 
 prince royal, advanced to meet it at the entrance of the 
 church. There, in the presence of Thorvaldsen's religious 
 works, was celebrated the funeral service. The prior of the 
 cathedral, the Rev. Herr Tryde, preached a sermon ; and 
 after the ceremonj^ the crowd dispersed slowly and quietly. 
 They felt that the whole nation had met with a grievous 
 loss. 
 
 The remains of the illustrious sculptor rested nearly four 
 years in a chapel of the Frue Kirke, awaiting the completion 
 of the interior of the museum ; and it was not until Sept. 6, 
 1848, that the body was laid in the vault, in the centre of the 
 Thorvaldsen Museum. There, amid the rich collection of 
 the master's works, repose to-day his mortal remains. 
 
M !<: R C U K \ 
 
PART II. 
 
 WORKS or THORVALDSEK 
 
FIGURE FROM THE FRIEZE, " THE TRIUMPH OF ALEXANDER. " 
 
WOEKS OF THGBVALDSEN. 183 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Influence of the French School upon Art in Denmark, from the time 
 of Louis XIV. — The Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen. — 
 Revival of Art in Italy under Winckelmann. 
 
 A PUPIL of the Copenhagen School of 
 Fine Arts, Thorvaldsen produced his 
 works under the influence of the theo- 
 ries advanced by Winckelmann at the 
 close of the last century. It is impos- 
 sible, therefore, to form a just estimate 
 of his worth and individuality as an 
 artist, without giving at least a short 
 account of the state of art in Denmark 
 at the time of the sculptor's birth, 
 and of the reaction which had spread 
 through Italy when he, a mere youth, 
 took up his abode there ; for, however 
 great may be an artist's individuality, 
 he cannot remain unaflTected by sur- 
 rounding influences 
 
 The progress of the fine arts in Den- 
 mark is closely connected with the 
 histor}^ of the French school. Poussin 
 studied in Pome ; also Lebrun, the 
 painter of Louis XIV, and the real founder of the French 
 Academy in that city. During the last half of the seven- 
 teenth centur}'', all through Europe, in Italy, German}^, and 
 the North, the influence of the French school was dominant. 
 
1 84 WOBKS OF THOBVALDSEJST. 
 
 Everywhere in these countries, in churches, palaces, castles, 
 we meet either with immense paintings in the florid style of 
 Lebrun, or with statues which recall, b}^ their ambitious ele- 
 gance, the manner of the Coustous. 
 
 To Lebrun succeeded Mignard ; and after him came Wat- 
 teau, Boucher, the painters of fetes cliampetres ; Lancret, 
 Pater, the sculptor Clodion, and many others. In sculpture, 
 as in painting, grace, as the chief end in view, came to be 
 substituted for the grand style of the age of Louis XIV, 
 with its conventional dignity, its imposing and sometimes 
 exaggerated splendors. A new style, full of mannerisms and 
 elegant artifices, was now the fashion, — a stj^le alread}^ very 
 far removed from the point of departure of the French school, 
 but which, being in perfect harmony with the thought and 
 taste of the period, wielded an influence felt ever3'where 
 throughout Europe. 
 
 In the North, from the reign of Louis XIV, these changes 
 can be even more distinctly traced than elsewhere. Born in 
 Copenhagen, Thorvaldsen was not uninfluenced b}' the gen- 
 eral current of thought, as we might at first suppose. When 
 he came into the world, the arts, and especially sculpture, 
 were cultivated with success in Denmark. ^ 
 
 It is true that previous to the reign of Charles V (1670- 
 1699), the Danish painters were influenced by the Dutch 
 \ ' school ; but, by the end of the seventeenth centur}^, French 
 ideas were disseminated among them, and held thenceforward 
 absolute supremac3^ The national genius, let us remark, 
 3delded easily to French influence, while it rejected that of 
 countries less remote. 
 
 1 It is well known what an important part the countries of the North formerly 
 played in the political affairs of Europe. There are still vestiges in the city of Co- 
 penhagen of the ancient magnificence of her kings. A visit to the Rosenberg Castle, 
 which contains so many valuable relics of the past, vases, precious stones, objects of 
 art of all kinds, is sufficient to convey an idea of the former splendor of the Danish 
 court, — to-day so dignified in its simplicity. 
 
 This taste for the rich and brilliant, this love of beautiful things, we ought to add, 
 was already diffused in the time of Christian IV (1588-1648). 
 
WOBKS OF THOBVALBSEN-. 185 
 
 During the reign of Christian Y, a French painter, Jacques 
 d'Agar, was settled in Copenhagen as portrait painter to the 
 court ; and another artist, French also, the sculptor Abraham 
 Caesar L'Amoureux, executed in 1688 the equestrian statue 
 of the king. This statue, akeady referred to in the biog- 
 raphy of Thorvaldsen, was cast in lead, and erected in the 
 centre of the Place Royale (Kongens Nytorv). The mon- 
 arch tramples under the feet of his horse a demon represent- 
 ing envy, which writhes with hate and base anger. This 
 work, though not wanting in force, is both sensational and 
 pretentious. 
 
 Frederick IV and Christian VI protected the arts.^ In 
 their reigns the French school took root in Denmark. Under 
 the sway of Frederick V (1746-1766), the palace of Charlot- 
 tenborg was arranged for the use of the Academy of Fine 
 Arts. At the same time an entire new quarter of the cit}^ 
 Fredriksstaden, was laid out in Copenhagen ; and here the 
 leading nobles vied with each other in erecting sumptuous 
 mansions. The principal square in this quarter was called 
 Amalienborgs Plads, from an old castle on the same site, 
 which had been destroyed by fire in 1689. 
 
 An equestrian statue of the king, also the work of a French 
 sculptor, J. F. J. Saly, stands in this square. It has a fine 
 general appearance ; certain parts, especially the head of 
 the horse, being very well executed. 
 
 Saly, who resided in Denmark until 1774, produced other 
 works of merit, and had an important influence over the 
 growth of the Academy, of which he became director. C. 
 F. Stanley, A. Weidenhaupt, N. Dajon, sculptors born in 
 
 1 Frederick IV (1699-1730) had a true perception of the beautiful. Fredericksberg 
 and Fredcnsborg furnish proof of how well he understood the principles of art 
 These palaces are skilfully planned to harmonize with their sites and the natural 
 scenery of the surrounding country. Frederick IV was, above all, the patron of 
 painting. His successor. Christian VI (1730-1746), was passionately fond of luxury. 
 The palace of Christiansborg (destroyed by the fire of 1794) and numerous country- 
 houses and hunting-boxes, among them Xlirshohn and the Hermitage, testify to the 
 splendor with which he surrounded his court. 
 
i86 WOBKS OF THOEVALDSEJ^. 
 
 Denmark, who have left behind them justly honored names, 
 studied at the Academy during his administration. 
 
 The Danish sculptor, who after Saly was held in the high- 
 est estimation, was Johannes Wiedewelt, who succeeded him 
 as director of the Academy. He belonged to a family of 
 artists, his grandfather having been an architect and his father 
 a carver. To decorate the prow and stern of vessels with 
 figure-heads and rich carvings was already the custom in 
 Denmark. The father of Wiedewelt pursued this avocation 
 in the ship3^ards of Holmen ; and here his son, like the young 
 Thorvaldsen afterward, made his first essaj^s. 
 
 Under the direction of his father, Wiedewelt acquired a 
 certain degree of aptitude ; and when Saly came to Copen- 
 hagen, in 1753, he was travelling to complete his art educa- 
 tion at the ro3^al expense. He first went to Paris, where 
 he studied with William Coustou the younger ; thence to 
 Rome, where he lived on intimate terms with Winckelmann, 
 who directed his attention to the antique. This intimacy had 
 a decided influence upon Wiedewelt, who from that time 
 began to stud}" the Greeks and Romans with enthusiasm. 
 The relations between him and the illustrious savant were 
 founded on true friendship, and they corresponded eonstantlj'' 
 until the death of Winckelmann. 
 
 Upon his return to Copenhagen (1758), Wiedewelt was 
 made member of the Academj^, and the following 3"ear pro- 
 fessor. He was also charged with a large number of works. 
 In the magnificent cathedral of Roeskilde, the burial-place 
 of the Danish kings, the sarcophagus of Christian VI and 
 the great monument of Frederick V, enriched with figures 
 larger than life, are both by Wiedewelt. Several statues in 
 the garden of Fredensborg Castle are also by his hand, besides 
 richl}" decorated marble vases, and four large groups in sand- 
 stone of mythological subjects. Wiedewelt executed a great 
 number of busts and mortuary monuments. Many of them 
 were destroj^ed, either when the castle was burnt in 1794, or 
 
WOBKS OF THOBVALBSEN. 187 
 
 during the bombardment of Copenhagen in 1807. But his 
 finest and most characteristic work has fortunately been pre- 
 served. It is a statue in marble of a woman, and represents 
 Fidelit3\ It is placed with three other statues around the 
 obelisk to Liberty, erected in 1792 in front of the west gate 
 of the city. This monument commemorates the abolition of 
 srrfdom. 
 
 An intelligent artist, Wiedewelt possessed the inventive 
 facult}' and composed with great facilit}^ His sojourn at 
 Paris and Rome, his relations with Winckelmann, had 
 contributed to enrich his mind with extensive knowledge. 
 Nevertheless, his talent, though developed under such happy 
 influences, was wanting in flexibility ; and the artist did 
 not succeed in putting life and expression into his figures, 
 which are executed with learned accuracy, but with a certain 
 stiffness. 
 
 The tendencies of st3de observable in the works of this 
 sculptor testify to the authority exercised over him by Winck- 
 elmann : they already indicate the working of the new ideas 
 which later were to become dominant with Canova and Thor- 
 valdsen. 
 
 In his old age, Wiedewelt gradually gave himself up to 
 a profound melancholy, and finally, in 1802, put an end to his 
 lifei 
 
 Weidenhaupt, a pupil of Saly, acquired a fair reputation, 
 especially as professor of the Academy. He left an ecorclie^ 
 which was highly esteemed, and used for a model until 
 within a few years. A pensioner of the Academ}', Weiden- 
 haupt went to Paris, where he studied from 1762 to 1765. 
 
 1 Among the pupils of Wiedewelt, we ought to mention J. J. Holm, a young artist 
 of t.'ilent, who soon gave up sculpture for the engraving of medals. He was, how 
 ever, surpassed in this art hy Peter Gianelli, of Copenhagen, who engraved several 
 medals of true artistic value. One, commemorating the abolition of the slave trade 
 in the Danish colonies in 1792, is specially remarkable. He died early in this century. 
 BLis brother, Dominic Gianelli, who obtained the great gold medal in 1799. subse- 
 quently took up his abode in England. He sent in : 820 to the Academy in which he 
 had studied a portrait bust of the Duke of Gloucester. 
 
WORKS OF thorvaldsen: 
 
 Under the direction of Pajou, he worked upon a marble Saint 
 Augustine, intended for the Hotel des Invalides. In Rome 
 he was attracted to the antique, and modelled reduced 
 copies of some of the most celebrated statues. These 
 copies, which have unfortunately disappeared with time, had 
 great success in Copenhagen exhibitions. 
 
 " Agriculture," one of the marble figures adorning the obe- 
 lisk to Liberty, was executed b}" Weidenhaupt. It is only 
 just to sa}^, that in this statue, as well as in other studies by 
 the same artist, there is a marked and sustained eflTort in the 
 direction of the simplicity of Greek art. 
 
 Nicholas Dajon, born like Weidenhaupt in Copenhagen, 
 and a pupil of Saly, also worked on the monument to Liberty. 
 The two female figures, "Courage "and "Patriotism," are 
 from his chisel ; but they are inferior to the other two. He 
 succeeded better in a very rich mortuary monument, orna- 
 mented with two marble female figures of life-size, in a ceme- 
 tery in Copenhagen. 
 
 Thorvaldsen received lessons at the Academy from this 
 sculptor. When, in 1819, the pupil returned to Copenhagen, 
 alread}' covered with glory, the old master was almost for- 
 gotten. He died in 1823. 
 
 It does not enter into our plan to follow out the history of 
 art in Denmark : ^ we have attempted only to show b}' a few 
 
 1 In Sweden, also, the influence of the French school was felt, and in a more per- 
 sistent manner than in Denmark. The younger brother of our celebrated Bouchar- 
 don settled in this country, where he was without a rival. He died in 1762. Larche- 
 veque, who was director of the Koyal Swedish Academy, and who died in 1778, was 
 a mannered artist, lie had for a pupil t-'ergel, the best of the Swedish sculptors, of 
 whom the Marquis de Chennevicres has given an interesting notice in the " I Jevue 
 Universelle des Arts " (May. 1856). Sergei, who made an excellent ''Sleeping Fawn." 
 was Canova's predecessor in Rome. It was there he formed himself, not altogether 
 escaping, however, the influences of the French school, — of which his charming 
 group of " Love and Psyche " is an evidence. VVe cannot forget that it is to t^ergel 
 we owe the tomb of Descartes, in the church of Adolphus-Frederick, in Stockholm, 
 After this artist, the most famous Swedish sculptors were Bystrom and Fogelberg, 
 contemporaries of Thorvaldsen. The first, of serious and rather cold turn of mind, 
 sought inspiration from the antique : the other was a pupil of Sergei, but he also 
 studied under Gu^rin and Bosio in Taris. Gustave Planche has devoted a very care- 
 
WOEKS OF THORVALDSEN. 
 
 illustrations, how this countiy, after having yielded to the 
 general influence of. the art movement in Europe, especially 
 in France, formed its own Academy, and to indicate the con- 
 ditions under which Thorvaldsen made his first art studies. 
 
 We must not exaggerate the influence in Denmark of the 
 principles brought from Ital}^ by Wiedewelt, the friend of 
 Winckelmann. They were not always adopted by his suc- 
 cessors. It was not at Copenhagen, therefore, but in Rome, 
 in presence of the masterpieces of antiquitj', that Thorvald- 
 sen finally found his proper path. 
 
 When he arrived in Italy, the art revolution was definitely 
 accomplished. It had commenced in the Peninsula about 
 the middle of the seventeenth century : in the eighteenth, 
 Mengs, a German, settled in Rome, encouraged it, and Winck- 
 elmann ensured its triumph. By a fortunate coincidence, 
 the discoveries of Pompeii and Herculaneum favored this 
 great movement. Thoroughl}^ familiar with the beauties of 
 the Greek language, admiring Sophocles and Demosthenes, 
 and enthusiastic over Hesiod and Homer, Winckelmann had 
 long studied the antiquities of the German Museums before 
 going to Italy. At the time he arrived in this land of prom- 
 ise for the artist and scholar. Antiquity herself, rising up from 
 beneath the ashes and lava which had preserved her, stood 
 read}" to reveal herself, unveiled and glowing, to her enthusi- 
 astic lover. 
 
 The works of Winckelmann on the antique have long 
 been well known. The great influence they have had upon 
 artists has reformed the taste for the meretricious and af- 
 fected, and induced a return to the severe beauties of Greek 
 art. Had the}^ no other merit, these works would, on this 
 account alone, be worth}^ of the respect of all judicious 
 
 ful article in the " Revue des Deux Mondes," 1855, to this artist, who was very fond 
 of the traditions of the Scandinavian mythology. To Fogelberg we owe the statues 
 of the gods, Odin, Thor, and Balder. His works were published in 1856 in Paris by 
 M. Casimir Leconte. 
 
190 WOBKS OF THOEVALDSEN. 
 
 minds. Nevertheless, as they have had, generally, less happy 
 results in painting than in sculpture, they have lost some of 
 the popularity they enjoyed at the beginning of this cen- 
 tury. 
 
 Perhaps, also, the fault lies in the excessive zeal of some 
 artists, who, confounding the letter with the spirit, have over- 
 shot the mark, and gone far beyond the ideas of Winck- 
 elmann, — substituting absolutely for an intelligent stud}^ 
 of nature a servile copying of the relics of antiquitj'. These 
 artists have given birth only to imitations. 
 
 The learned German says : "The treatise in which we have 
 discussed the art of the Egyptians, Etruscans, and other na- 
 tions, may enlarge our ideas, and lead to correctness of judg- 
 ment ; but this on Greek art will attempt to base them on 
 the Unity of Truth (the one and the true) as a standard of 
 opinion and a rule in execution." ^ 
 
 There are to be found in the works of Winckelmann just 
 and wise teachings. The great admirer of the Greeks was 
 fully persuaded that in their art those masters were in pos- 
 session of truth ; and when he describes their methods, he 
 "incidentally lays down precepts of high value. To what was 
 owing the superiorit}^, incontestable in sculpture, of these 
 Greek artists, so happily endowed with a natural aptitude for 
 feeling and appreciating beauty? Above all, to the daily 
 stud}'' they made of the naked figure.^ 
 
 But, if the Greeks had constantly before their eyes the 
 naked figure, they did not content themselves with copying 
 it ; they chose from many models what pleased them most, 
 
 ^ Winckelmann, vol. ii, p. 4. Lodge's Translation. 
 
 2 The gymnasia and other places where the young exercised naked, in athletic and 
 other games, and which were the resort of those who desired to see beautiful youth, 
 were the schools wherein the artist saw beauty of structure; and, from the daily op- 
 portunity of seeing it nude and in perfection, l is imagination became heated, the 
 beauty of the forms he saw became his own, and was ever present to his mind. At 
 Sparta, even the young virgins exercised naked, or nearly so, in the games of the 
 arena, Winckelmann, vol. ii, p 43. Lodge's Translation. 
 
WOBKS OF THOBVALDSEN. 191 
 
 and from this choice composed a harmonious whole, superior, 
 consequently, to each model taken separatel}'. " They puri- 
 fied their images from all personal feelings, b}^ which the 
 mind is diverted from the truly beautiful." ^ " This selection 
 of the most beautiful parts, and their harmonious union in 
 one figure," again observes Winckelmann, " produces ideal 
 beauty^ which is therefore no metaphysical abstraction." ^ 
 
 The idealistic doctrine to-day has numerous opponents ; 
 nevertheless, if it does not insist upon absolute truth, it does 
 not forbid the study of the beautiful in nature, that being in 
 fact the basis on which it rests. 
 
 The search after the beautiful in nature, and the creation 
 of the ideal, did not comprise all the aesthetic doctrine of the 
 Greeks. The artist who follows their precepts must also 
 devote himself to expression and action. " An observance 
 of propriety in expression and action," again remarks Winck- 
 elmann, " ought therefore to be inculcated at the same time 
 with the principles of beautiful forms, because it is one of 
 the constituents of grace." ^ Still, moderation is necessary in 
 expression as in action ; for if beaut}', like limpid water drawn 
 from the clearest springs, loses its purity by the admixture 
 of foreign elements, expression ought only to be admitted so 
 far as it does not alter the features of the face. So, also, the 
 action of the limbs should never be so strongly emphasized 
 as to break the harmonious equilibrium of the bod}'. 
 
 Such is the essence of the teachings of Winckelmann. 
 Thorvaldsen is one of the artists who have most faithfully 
 endeavored to put these theories into practice, and in sculp- 
 ture he may be said to be their most complete and truest 
 expression. It is impossible, therefore, to separate his works 
 from the principles which maj' almost be said to have pro- 
 duced them. 
 
 1 Winckelmann, vol.ii, p. 47. Lodge's Translation. 
 8 Vol. ii, p. 112. Lodge's Translation. 
 
 2 Ibid. p. 48. 
 
ACHILLES AND PRIAM. 
 
WOBKS OF THOEVALDSEN. 1 93 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Theories of Winckelmann and Thorvaldsen. — Figures of Manhood : 
 "Jason," "Mercury," "Vulcan," " Hercules." — Youthful Fig- 
 ures: "Bacchus," "Ganymede," "Cupid," "Apollo," "Adonis." 
 — Goddesses: "Venus," "The Three Graces," "Psyche," 
 "Hebe." — Statue of the "Young Dancing-Girl," and that of 
 " Hope." — The ^gina Marbles. 
 
 art. 
 only 
 
 The works of Winckelmann, which 
 were destined to exercise so impor- 
 tant an influence upon art, remained 
 for a long time almost unknown to 
 artists. The principles propounded 
 by the savant were first appreciated 
 only by archaeologists ; but when, 
 little b}^ little, they had penetrated 
 beyond this narrow circle, they 
 effected a complete revolution in 
 ideas. David, on his return from 
 Italy, brought them to France, where 
 they were the more readily welcomed, 
 as the stud}" of the republican insti- 
 tutions of Greece and Rome was 
 then in vogue ; and whatever related 
 to them, whether in politics or art, 
 was assured of a great popularitj'. 
 Canova, whose genius was pliant and 
 facile, succeeded in giving to his 
 work a certain semblance of antique 
 He very soon became the most celebrated sculptor, not 
 of Italy, but of Europe ; and when the Empire, in its 
 
194 
 
 WOBKS OF TIIORVALDSEN. 
 
 turn, evoked the memories of the Rome of the Caesars, he 
 was still more highl}^ considered. 
 
 At the time of Thorvaldsen's arrival in Ital}', the revolution 
 was accomplished ; but we must not conclude that the artist 
 did no more than 34eld to the influence prevailing around 
 him. It was under the guidance of a purely personal feeling 
 that he was immediately attracted b}^ the most beautiful, the 
 most severe monuments of Greek art ; and, though he partici- 
 pated in the general movement, he pla3'ed a part in it peculiar 
 to himself. Circumstances also favored him. Scared}' had 
 the young Dane taken the first step on the road which was 
 to lead him to fame, when he encountered a fervent disciple 
 of Winckelmann. Doubtless he owed much less to the wise 
 counsels of this friend than to the clearness of his own judg- 
 ment, but his modest}' made him rely with respectful confi- 
 dence upon the knowledge of Zoega. Warmly encouraged 
 b}' the learned archaeologist in his enthusiastic admiration for 
 the grand style of antique statuar}^, Thorvaldsen abandoned 
 himself without reserve to his tastes, and went resolutely oa 
 in the direction in which his talent was to receive its full 
 development. 
 
 In Rome he found a vast field open to investigation, and 
 innumerable models for his studies. In spite of the ravages 
 of time, of civil wars, invasions of barbarians, devastations, 
 Rome was still the heiress of Antiquity ; and the excavations 
 carried on in Ital}', and pushed as far as Greece, added every 
 day new treasures to her store. 
 
 Before attempting any original work, Thorvaldsen strove 
 to imbue himself with the spirit of the Greek artists ; and, 
 " /es ceuvres de />7'ce" attracting him b}' preference, he took 
 for the model of his first important cop.y one of the Dioscuri 
 of Monte Cavallo, — the Pollux, — which he executed with 
 a sort of religious respect. Under the profound impression ^ 
 
 1 " ' Emotion received should be transmuted into our own being,' says truly Mrae,. 
 de Stael : and the truer this emotion is, the less will it inspire a servile imitation." 
 
W0BK8 OF THOnVALDSEN. 195 
 
 left upon him by the stud}^ of this antique, he produced 
 the " Jason," a statue so lofty and severe in st3de, tliat we 
 can scarcely believe that it marks the debut of a young 
 artist. 
 
 "When Jason appeared," says Pindar,^ "all the people 
 were struck with astonishment. They took him for Apollo, 
 Bacchus, or Mars " For the tj-pe of his " Theseus," Canova 
 chose Apollo. To represent Jason,- Thorvaldsen selected the 
 more manly figure of Mars. The hero still wears his long 
 floating hair, as he wore it, according to the poet, when he 
 entered Athens for the first time. It escapes from his helmet 
 in thick curls. He is represented in all the vigor of manhood, 
 and his noble attitude recalls the Hercules of an antique 
 mosaic in the Villa Albani.^ 
 
 The Greeks gave more expression and action to heroes 
 than to gods. According to their principles, too much action 
 was incompatible with the sublime serenity of divinity ; but 
 it was permitted to the artist to put more animation into 
 figures representing human beings. "In heroes, — that is, 
 in men to whom antiquitj^ attributed the highest excellence 
 of human nature, — he [the Greek artist] advanced even to 
 the confines of the divine nature, without passing bej'ond 
 them, and without blending the very nice distinctions which 
 separated the two." ^ The " Jason " is an application of this 
 principle. 
 
 With the Greeks, the representations of their divinities 
 corresponded to the ideas they had previously conceived 
 of them. The admirabl}' well-balanced imagination of this 
 people, unlike the generality of the Oriental idolaters, was 
 incapable of giving birth to monsters, but, on the contrary, 
 produced t3pes of perfect and superhuman beauty, which 
 very soon became recognized objects of worship. These 
 
 ^ Ode iv. 
 
 2 Discovered in 1760, and described in the Monumenti, No. 66. 
 
 3 Winckelmann, vol. ii, p. 86, Lodge's Translation. 
 
196 WORKS OF THORVALDSEN. 
 
 figures of the gods are instinct with thought : not the face 
 alone, but the whole body, from head to foot. Whenever 
 Thorvaldsen represented these divinities, he necessarily con- 
 formed to the Greek tradition, adopting the established type ^ 
 for each. Still, while he constantly employed the refining 
 processes practised by the sculptors of antiquity, he at the 
 same time endeavored not to lose sight of nature ; and, in the 
 larger number of his statues, we find evidence of careful ana- 
 tomical study of living models. 
 
 Thorvaldsen, in following with a wise moderation the S3's- 
 tem of deification of the human form, has produced in his 
 " Mercury " a work commingled of the real and the ideal. 
 It is one of the finest pieces of modern sculpture, and will 
 compare fa vorabl}^ with the antique statues. " Mercmy Ar- 
 giphontes,"^ says Nagler, truly, "is a most happy expression 
 of manly beauty at the age of thirty. It resembles in char- 
 acter and in its proportions the famous Greek hero known 
 as the " Fighting Gladiator." To create such a work, Thor- 
 valdsen began by copying nature. As we have already said, 
 the very pose of the figure was given him by a porter, whom 
 he accidental!}" saw in the Corso. The porter is become a 
 god, owing to the exquisite choice of forms, idealized with 
 an intelligent discretion without losing an}' of their truth ; 
 and owing, also, to the nobility which characterizes the ex- 
 pression of the countenance. It is not human guile, it is 
 divine intelligence which is reflected on the brow and beams 
 in the eye of Mercury. The action, or, to speak with 
 more exactness, the preparation for action, is sufficient to 
 
 1 " As the ancients," says "VVinckelmann, had mounted gradually from human to 
 divine beauty, each of the steps of beauty remained through which they passed in 
 tlieir ascent." And, farther on, he adds, in regard to the process of making a hero 
 into a god, that " the eifect has been produced rather by subtraction than addition ; 
 that is to say, by the gradual abstraction of all those parts which, even in nature, are 
 sharply and strongly expressed, until the shape becomes refined to such a degree 
 that only the spirit within appears to have brought it into being," Vol. ii, pp. 86, 90. 
 Lodge's Translation. 
 
 2*' The Slayer of Argus." 
 
WOBKS OF THOBVALDSEN. 
 
 197 
 
 give movement and flexibility to the body and limbs ; but it 
 is restrained and reveals a god, capable of vigorous and yet 
 effortless activity. 
 
 In the statue of " Mars," the muscles are more strongly 
 marked. It was proper to give to the god of war a more 
 pronounced appearance of exterior force than to Mercur3\ 
 Both these divinities displaj^ the characteristics of 3'outh 
 united with those of manhood. Mars and Mercury are 
 beardless, and their short and curl}^ hair falls over their 
 forehead. 
 
 The statue of "Vulcan" belongs to the period of devel- 
 oped manhood.! -pjie Greeks, it is known, endowed divini- 
 ties of this age with a character in some respects immutable, 
 so that the}' can be recognized by the conventional cast of 
 the features and the cut of the hair and beard. The coun- 
 tenance of Vulcan is characterized by that calm rugged- 
 ness proper to the blacksmith-son of Jupiter : he has the 
 heavy beard and thick bushy hair of the king of gods ; 
 his head is covered with the workman's cap ; his tunic, 
 after the prescribed fashion for this god, always occupied 
 with hard labor, is unfastened on the right shoulder, leav- 
 ing the chest bare. The general attitude of this figure 
 reminds us very much of an Hephaistos on an altar in the 
 Vatican.^ 
 
 In regard to the statue of " Hercules," it should not be 
 judged severely, when we remember that Thorvaldsen was 
 seventy-three years old when he modelled it. It is certainly 
 inferior to the works above mentioned, though it still bears 
 the marks of a master-hand. 
 
 The Greek sculptors saw in Hercules two different persons. 
 One is the hero " who had to contend against monsters and 
 fierce men, and had not yet reached the end of his toils : " 
 
 1 Sometimes, but very rarely, the ancients represented Hephaistos (Vulcan) with 
 the features of youth. 
 
 2 Mentioned by M. Theil, in his Dictionary. 
 
WORKS OF THOBVALDSEN. 
 
 he is represented with protuberant muscles. The other is 
 the demi-god, " whose body had been purified by fire, and 
 who had been raised to the enjo3^ment of the happiness of 
 Olympus. The former is represented in the Hercules Far- 
 nese, and the latter in the torso of the Belvedere." i 
 
 Thorvaldsen selected the man Hercules He has not repre- 
 sented him, as the Greeks sometimes did, in the glory of youth, 
 with features which leave his sex almost doubtful, so that his 
 beaut}^ resembles that which the complaisant Gl3'cera re- 
 quired a young man to have in order to be worthy of her 
 favors 2 He has given him, on the contrary, a robust and 
 even heavy figure. We notice the weight rather than the 
 strength of the colossus. The hand which holds the club 
 does not seem to grasp it with vigor ; nor does the head 
 much resemble that of Hercules, subduer of monsters, to 
 whom the Greeks alwa3's gave a low brow, with thick, coarse 
 hair bristling over the forehead, like the shaggy locks be- 
 tween the horns of the bull.^ 
 
 Among the ^^outhful figures treated by Thorvaldsen, 
 we note those of Bacchus, Ganymede, Love, Apollo, and 
 Adonis, which have very distinctive characteristics. The 
 Greeks gave to Bacchus a mixed type of beauty, com- 
 pounded of both sexes, and " drawn from the conformation 
 of eunuchs."'* The ancient artists, who represented this 
 god in his 3'outh, always rounded his limbs to the point 
 of feminine elegance, and developed his hips to almost 
 womanly proportions ; for, according to the fable, Bacchus 
 was brought up as a girl.^ 
 
 Following this tradition, Thorvaldsen has given much 
 feminine delicac3" to his " Bacchus." The god is leaning 
 negligently against the trunk of a tree, and turning his head 
 
 1 Winckelmann, vol. ii, p. 78. Lodge's Translation. 
 
 2 Winckelmann. 
 
 3 Winckelmann, vol. ii, p. 157. Lodge's Translation. 
 * Ibid. vol. ii, p. 73. o ibid. vol. ii, p. 73. 
 
WORKS OF THOBVALBSEN. 
 
 199 
 
 languidly toward the cup -which he is lifting to his lips. The 
 brow is crowned with vine-leaves ; and the hair, gathered 
 together, and knotted on the top of the head like a woman's, 
 is allowed to partly escape and fall over the shoulders, — 
 an arrangement common to Apollo and Bacchus, and to 
 them alone of all the divinities. ^ There is something soft 
 and easy in the contour of this figure, a voluptuous flexibilit}^ 
 in the action of the bod}-. The rounded abdomen and pro- 
 jecting hips approach to the feminine type : the muscles and 
 knee-pans, scarcely marked, are those of 3'oung boys. 
 
 Ganymede has none of this blending of forms. He is a 
 youth remarkable for the delicacy of his limbs, the want of 
 prominence in his muscles, the softness and roundness of 
 his flesh. His hips are not developed like those of Bac- 
 chus. The son of Tros unites in himself all the beauties 
 which nature is capable of giving to young boys. It is thus 
 he appears in the statues of Thorvaldsen and in the group 
 where the artist has represented him kneeling before Jupiter, 
 metamorphosed into an eagle. The young Trojan is per- 
 forming, for the first time, his duties as cup-bearer to the 
 god. The way the eagle regards him indicates the cause 
 of the jealousy of Juno. This group is grand in style, 
 well balanced, and fine in execution. 
 
 The "Gan3^mede" is only an embodiment of idealized 
 human beauty. To represent Love, the artist should, accord- 
 ing to the principle of the Greeks, strive for a higher aim, — 
 a divine ideal. " Love Victorious " has all the graces of 
 youth, joined to an exceeding delicacy. Though the forms 
 have something of the blending of the two types, as in the 
 Bacchus," they have more loftiness and purit}-, and reveal 
 a god of a superior order. The conqueror of gods and men, 
 leaning on his bow, is looking at the point of one of his 
 arrows with an expression of malice and pride which is 
 almost cruel. 
 
 I Winckelmann, vol. ii, p. 185, Lodge's Translation. Also see p. 68. 
 
200 
 
 WOBKS OF THOBVALBSEN. 
 
 In the group of " Cupid and Psyche/' the figure of the god 
 is firm and slender, and copied more directly from beau- 
 tiful living models. This composition is a masterpiece of 
 true grace and simplicity. In drawing from the same sources 
 as the Greek masters, the sculptor has approached nearer to 
 them, perhaps, than he could have done by the mere imitation 
 of their works ; and has given to his figures all the originality 
 of his own genius. Psj^che stands looking thoughtfull}^ at 
 the cup of immortality : she hesitates before putting it to 
 her lips, she does not jQt dare to confront this immense 
 unknown. Cupid encourages her with tender persuasions, 
 and smiles sweetly at the naivete of the young girl. In this 
 work, there is something superior to the beauty of form : it 
 is the extreme delicacy of the sentiment and of the philo- 
 sophic idea. In representing Cupid and Ps3^che, Canova 
 satisfied himself by grouping together two beautiful figures 
 in an attitude of tenderness and soft languor. Thorvaldsen 
 has done more : he has expressed a thought. 
 
 Among the Greeks, the figure of Apollo is the highest 
 type of ideal beauty, whose most complete expression is the 
 Apollo Belvedere. In our judgment, Thorvaldsen did not 
 here attain to his ideal. The figure of his " Apollo " is nearer 
 akin to the mixed beautj^ of Bacchus, a less noble divinity. 
 The face is wanting in that distinction of feature which 
 might be dispensed with in Apollo, shepherd of Admetus, 
 but which must be always retained in the god of Par- 
 nassus 
 
 Adonis not being a deity, the sculptor had onl}- to copy 
 skilfully what he saw in nature, and give to his figure a simple 
 and antique attitude. His "Adonis" is a youth in the full 
 bloom of manly beauty, copied with scrupulous fidelit}^ from 
 the finest living models. Here are still all the graces of ado- 
 lescence, but with no false refinement to disturb the purity of 
 the figure, or compromise its noble simplicity. This work, 
 which has some resemblance to the " Apollo Sauroctonos" of 
 
WORKS OF THOBVALDSEN. 
 
 20 r 
 
 antiq lity, is, however, entirely original in execution. Thor- 
 valdsen borrowed from the Greeks the perfect form of the 
 head, the arrangement of the hair, the repose of the attitude, 
 the careful balance of the figure ; but the pensive expression 
 of the 3'oung shepherd, and the evidences of a loving study 
 of nature, give to the marble the personal imprint of the 
 artist. No traveller visiting the Glyptothek of Munich can 
 fail to be sensibly impressed, not only by the elegance and 
 severe style of this work, but also by the deep feeling per- 
 vading it. 
 
 If we extend this comparative method of study to the 
 female figures of Thorvaldsen, we shall still find the artist a 
 pupil of the Greeks, and, imbued with their principles, apply- 
 ing with an independent genius the rules which guided these 
 masters. 
 
 The Greeks, in expressing beaut}^ of form in their god- 
 desses, do not seem to have followed closel}^ the distinctions 
 to which they so rigidly adhered in their gods and heroes. ^ 
 The faces of the goddesses have all a character of their own ; 
 but the forms, which, moreover, are usually draped, have sel- 
 dom an}^ distinguishing difference except that of age. 
 
 To Venus and the Graces belong the nearly exclusive priv- 
 ilege of being habitually represented nude, though we have 
 almost the right to saj^ that, in the first period of Greek art, 
 this license was not permitted. The Venus of Melos, which 
 belongs to the finest epoch of antiquit}^, is partly draped. 
 
 When Thorvaldsen was modelling his " Venus," he could 
 not have known of the statue found in the Island of Melos in 
 1820, and directly afterward taken to Paris. But he must 
 have studied the Medicean, the Capitoline, and the Venup 
 of Troas ; and he seems to have been inspired b}^ the more 
 youthful beauty of the first He has not given his figure that 
 attitude of modest embarrassment which characterizes the 
 three antique statues : still, there is nothing in the severe 
 beauty of the "Venus Victrix" of the Danish sculptor which 
 
 1 Winckelmann, vol. ii, p. 91. Lodee's Translation. 
 
202 
 
 WORKS OF THORVALDSEN. 
 
 can excite an equivocal thought. The admiration which she 
 inspires is similar to that which those philosophers might feel, 
 for whom " Love is the colleague of Wisdom." ^ The god- 
 dess, with her left hand, is already taking up the garment 
 which, before presenting herself to Paris, she had laid on the 
 trunk of a tree. The right arm is drawn near the bod}" by 
 a movement which, though graceful, is lacking a little in 
 freedom ; the hand holds the apple, the prize of victory. 
 The head, slightl}' inclined, is expressive of gratified pride 
 and divine serenity in her triumph. 
 
 Thorvaldsen did not usuallj^ give a large development to 
 the bosom in his figures of women. The outlines of his 
 " Venus " are elaborated with a finished delicacj^ ; the move- 
 ment of the hips, thighs, and legs is graceful without aflfecta- 
 tion ; the feet and hands are executed with extreme nicety. 
 
 In the group of the "Three Graces," Thorvaldsen seems 
 to us less happily inspired. The type of feminine beauty 
 adopted by him is not that usually chosen by the Greeks, 
 which was both strong and delicate. In trying to idealize 
 his figures, he has only succeeded in making them thin. The 
 faces express the innocence of youth, and the virginal bosoms 
 are rounded and finished with extreme delicacy ; but the less 
 developed contours of the lower part of the bodies have a 
 certain hardness and angularity of outline. 
 
 In accordance with the theory of Mengs, that a group 
 should always have the pyramidal form, the artist has made 
 the head and shoulders of two of his figures incline : the 
 third, on the contrar}", is upright, and stiff in attitude. One 
 of the three sisters presents her full face : the others are in 
 profile. Consequently, we do not see the back of any of 
 them This arrangement did not permit the artist to please 
 by a simultaneous view of the feminine form in all its aspects. 
 Jean Goujon, Raphael, the greater number of ancient sculp- 
 
 * Ta <ro(/>ca jrapeSpou? epwra?. Euripides, Media, v. 843. 
 
WORKS OF THORVALDSEN. 
 
 203 
 
 tors,^ appear, on the contrary, to have preferred the opposite 
 arrangement, which is much more satisfactory to tlie eye. 
 
 In spite of the praise wliich this group has received, — it 
 has even inspired the poetic mind of a king,^ — there is no 
 doubt that Thorvaldsen was not fully satisfied with his work, 
 and in 1842 he executed a new model, different from the 
 first. But the perfection to which he could not attain in the 
 fulness of his powers was not to be reached in his old age, 
 and the second work seems to us even inferior to the first. 
 Nevertheless, the sculptor tried to give more ease to the 
 middle figure, whose attitude he changed. The right foot 
 only is resting on the ground, while the left is raised. The 
 movement — a little unnatural — of the second goddess is 
 also modified. To get rid of the angular outline of the lower 
 part of the body, the artist turned the right-hand figure 
 three-quarters round, making it face nearly to the front ; so 
 that its posture does not Yury suflScientl}^ from that of the 
 central figure. Finally, notwithstanding the excellent inten- 
 tions for which this new attempt is to be commended, the 
 group of 1842, though carefully finished, is inferior to the 
 other in delicacy of workmanship. In both compositions, 
 the goddesses are wanting in fulness of outline. 
 
 To Psyche undoubtedly belongs the slender and delicate 
 form of extreme youth. This charming subject has been 
 twice treated by Thorvaldsen : first in the group of which 
 we have already spoken, and afterward in a pretty statue, 
 representing the gentle victim of the vengeance of Venus 
 bearing from the infernal regions the mysterious box given 
 her by Proserpine. She stands in a pensive attitude ; her 
 drapery has fallen below her hips, leaving exposed the upper 
 part of the body. By a movement indicative of innocent 
 
 1 See Seneca, De Beneficiis, i, 3. 
 
 2 King Louis of Bavaria wrote a poem, in which he celebrated with enthusiasm 
 the '-Three Graces" of Thorvaldsen, and criticised severely Canova's group. 
 (Nagler.) 
 
204 WORKS OF THOBVALBSEN, 
 
 curiosity, the young giri lays her right hand on the cover of 
 the box; but she hesitates. "We can imagine nothing more 
 delicate. It is a charming creation, with no sign of effort. 
 
 Hebe has been twice represented by the artist. In the first 
 model, the young goddess is clothed in a double tunic : the 
 garment, unfastened on the shoulder, leaves the right breast 
 bare. The drapery is elegant and severe. But this exposure 
 of the bust was considered a fault ; and ten years later Thor- 
 valdsen, in modelling a repetition of this first statue, covered 
 the bosom entirely, to better express the modest grace which 
 belongs to the goddess of youth. 
 
 We must not conclude our examination of these female 
 figures, without saying a word about a charming statue of a 
 young girl, whose tunic, slipping over her right arm, exposes 
 a bosom hardly y^t developed. B}' a naive movement, she 
 raises her dress on both sides, and begins to dance. Her 
 hair is knotted simply on the top of her head. This com- 
 position is full of freshness and buoyancy. It is a very 
 characteristic work, strongly imbued with the artist's indi- 
 viduality. 
 
 The statue of " Hope," on the contrary, is wholly archaic, 
 — a skilful and intentional imitation of early Greek art. The 
 attitude of the goddess is impassive : in one hand she holds 
 a flower read}^ to scatter its seed, in the other a fold of her 
 long tunic, — a movement conformed to antique tradition. 
 The severe fall of the draper}^, under which the bod}^ is 
 discreetly but strongly indicated ; the placidity of the face, 
 admirable in its purity of feature ; the hair, whose long curls 
 fall over the shoulders ; the brow, encircled with a wide ban- 
 deau in the form of a diadem, — all recall the hieratic proto- 
 type of Greek antiquity, ^ and reveal the profound studies 
 
 > Brondsted thus describes the figures imitated hy Thorvaldsen, and which he sup- 
 poses to be Graces and Hours : " The temple of ^gina," he says, "had as acroteria. 
 above the apex of the pediment, a large flowcr-like ornament, carefully executed iii 
 marble, and covered with paintings, and, on each side, two small female figures stand- 
 ing a little lower, on the slope of the cornice, and supported by small pedestals. 
 
WORKS OF THORVALDSEN, 
 
 205 
 
 which, shortl}^ before modelling it, the artist had to make for 
 the restoration of the famous ^gina marbles. 
 
 The ^gina marbles, which ornamented the pediment of 
 the Temple of Jupiter Panhellenius, appear to belong to a 
 transition period, and to be connected with two epochs : in 
 the first, which was entirely hieratic, the figures were motion- 
 less, like the statue of " Hope " ; in the second, without losing 
 their gravit}', they borrowed from human life, when they 
 represented it, a certain degree of movement and greater 
 diversit}^ of attitude. It is this which has made a critic say 
 that " the statues of -^gina seem still to adhere to the dogma, 
 with regard to the immobility of their countenances, while 
 they emerge into the world of art by the movement of their 
 limbs. The Greek and Trojan heroes have the heads of gods 
 and the bodies of athletes." 1 
 
 The assiduous labor bestowed by Thorvaldsen upon the 
 JEgina marbles during a whole year, — this struggle co?7)s d 
 corps^ if one may so express it, with Greek antiquity, — con- 
 tributed largely to the perfect development of his talent. 
 The effects of this thorough studj^ can be more directly traced 
 in those works produced shortly after the time the artist 
 was thus employed, — the statue of Hope," " The Young 
 Shepherd and Dog," and the group of " Ganymede and the 
 Eagle." 
 
 These two little statues were robed, and had each a flower In one hand, while with 
 the other they held up the hem of their garments. I am inclined to take these four 
 little figures of the two pediments for the two earliest Hours, Thallo and Karpo. and 
 for the two most ancient Graces, Auxo and Hegemone, (Comp. Pausan. ix, 35, 1.) 
 Still lower, at the ends of the pediment, were griffins, very well formed; of which 
 were found enough fragments in the excavations of 1811 to justify their restoration, 
 eo suC'^essfully accomplished by Thorvaldsen." — Voyages en Grece, livraison 2, note 
 on p. 159. Paris. Didot. 1830. 
 ^ M. Viardot, Musees d'Allemagne. 
 
ALEXANDER IN HIS CHARIOT, FROM THE FRIEZE, 'THE TRIUMPH 
 OF ALEXANDER.' 
 
WORKS OF THOBVALDSEN. 
 
 207 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Heroic and Mythological Bas-Reliefs. — Anacreontic Subjects. — The 
 " Shepherdess with the Nest of Loves." — The Four Ages of 
 Life." 
 
 The superiority acquired by Thor- 
 valdsen in bas-reliefs seems not to 
 be questioned. His great frieze, the 
 " Triumph of Alexander," would of 
 itself suffice to render an artist fa- 
 mous. 
 
 When the sculptor conceived this 
 vast composition, he had probably not 
 3^et seen the casts of the bas-reliefs 
 of the Parthenon. The marbles were 
 not brought to England from Greece 
 until 1814. Drawings of them, how- 
 ever, had been made as early as 1674,* 
 b}" a Flemish artist emplo3'ed b}^ the 
 Marquis de Nointel : these had been 
 often engraved, and there is no doubt 
 Thorvaldsen consulted them. But 
 the imitation was not servile, as jeal- 
 ous artists have maintained : on the 
 contrar}^, it was perfectly independ- 
 ent. This is especiall}^ notable in the 
 groups of Macedonian cavaliers, which recall the Athenian 
 horsemen in the Panathen.iean Procession. Most of the lat- 
 
 1 See Stuart and Landon Antiquities of Athens. 
 
208 WOBKS OF THOBVALDSEN. 
 
 ter wear the tunic and clilam3^s, which the Danish artist 
 has retained, and properl}- so, in his warriors of Alexander's 
 train. He has also given them breastplates. The attitudes 
 these cavaliers assume, whether in curbing or urging on 
 their steeds, are skilfully varied ; and the action of both 
 horses and horsemen are in the severe stjde of antique 
 work. 
 
 In the representation of so important an historic event as 
 the entr}^ of Alexander into Bab3don, the artist has followed, 
 as far as the dimensions of the frieze would permit, the nar- 
 rative of Quintus Curtius. If it were not possible for him to 
 give the walls the great height spoken of by the historian, 
 he has peopled them with citizens eager to salute their new 
 king. Alexander, in accordance with the account given by 
 Quintus Curtius, stands in his chariot, surrounded by his 
 guards, and followed by his army. At the side of the hero, 
 holding the reins, is a Victory ; while another allegorical 
 figure. Peace, presents to the conqueror an olive-branch and 
 a horn of plent3^ In that part of the frieze in which the 
 Babylonians are represented coming to meet their new mas- 
 ter, the narrative of the Roman writer has been scrupulously 
 followed. 
 
 " Mazseus," writes Quintus Curtius, " with his adult chil- 
 dren, came as a suppliant to meet Alexander, and surrender 
 to him the cit}- and himself. Bagophanes, keeper of the 
 citadel and of the royal treasur}^, not to be outdone in devo- 
 tion b}^ Mazaeus, had the path of the conqueror strewn with 
 flowers and garlands, and silver altars erected upon each 
 side of the wa}^, upon which incense burned, with a thousand 
 other perfumes Following him w^ere rich presents, droves 
 of cattle and horses, lions and leopards ; then the magi chant- 
 ing their national h}^mns. Behind them came the Chaldeans 
 and the poets of Babylon, musicians also, with the instru- 
 ments of their countr3\ The office of the latter was to chant 
 the praises of their kings ; that of the Chaldeans, to explain 
 
WORKS OF THOBVALDSEN. 
 
 209 
 
 the course of the stars and the periodic revolutions of the 
 seasons." 
 
 Quintus Curtiiis, we believe, is the onl}' historian of antiq- 
 uity who has preserved for us the account of this event. 
 Though there is a great mixture of truth and fable in his 
 works, it is probable that he derived these details from some 
 Greek historian whose writings have not come down to us. 
 However this may be, Thorvaldsen, instead of composing an 
 imaginary scene, preferred to follow the Roman narrative. 
 
 His frieze is in much higher relief than the " Panathensean. 
 Procession." The sculptural decorations of the Parthenon 
 varied in this respect, the " Panathensean Procession" being 
 in the lowest relief of all. 
 
 The rapidity with which Thorvaldsen in the first instance 
 had to execute his frieze forced him, as we have said, to 
 neglect perfection of detail. The work was to be placed at 
 a sufficient height to allow the artist to devote himself prin- 
 cipally to the attitude of the figures, and the general harmony 
 of the composition. But when the work was cut in marble, 
 not only did he complete what had been neglected in the 
 plaster, but introduced several happy changes. 
 
 In the Museum of Copenhagen there are four different 
 models of the principal figure, — Alexander in his triumphal 
 chariot. In the first, the attitude of the hero more nearly 
 resembles the exaggerated st^de of Lebrun's paintings than 
 the beautiful simplicity of antique bas-reliefs. There is more 
 of arrogance than of noble pride in the pose of the conqueror, 
 who holds high his lance in his right hand, while he rests his 
 left on his hip. The artist himself was dissatisfied with this, 
 figure, and changed it almost entirely. In the second model, 
 the conqueror is resting his left hand on his chariot, and 
 turning his head toward his sirmy.^ In a third, he leans 
 against the chariot with his right hand, and still turns his 
 
 iThe model executed in marble for the Duke of Sommariva, and engraved at the 
 head of this chapter. 
 
210 WOBKS OF THORVALDSEJSr. 
 
 head. The last and fourth variation, simpler and in our 
 opinion the finest, represents Alexander looking straight 
 before him, with the same action of the head and throat that 
 we find on all his medals. The hair, turned ofiT from the 
 brow, falls in waves on each side, according to the mode 
 adopted b}^ ancient artists in their representations of the 
 conqueror who called himself the son of Jupiter Ammon. 
 
 Thorvaldsen delighted in subjects drawn from the heroic 
 age of Greece. Although entireh^ ignorant of the language 
 of Homer, he was profoundl}" impressed by the grandeur of 
 the poet, — a grandeur not derived from magnificence of 
 diction merely, but from elevation of thought and dramatic 
 action. The beauty of the style he undoubtedlj- lost in 
 translations, but they supplied him with all the details of 
 the drama ; and he has interpreted the poet with a vigor and 
 simplicity only equalled b}^ Flaxman. 
 
 " The Abduction of Briseis " was his first subject. Achilles 
 yields to the command of Agamemnon, his heart swelling 
 with resentment. The heralds hesitate, embarrassed and full 
 of respect for the son of Peleus.^ He directs Patroclus to 
 deliver to them the beautiful girl, who follows sorrowfull3\ 
 Achilles turns away with anger, calling upon gods and men 
 to witness the outrage. 
 
 The Homeric inspiration is still more strilcing in a smaller 
 bas-relief, — " Hector and Paris." 
 
 " There entered Hector, dear to Jove ; he bore 
 In hand a spear eleven cubits long : 
 The brazen spear-head glittered brightly, bound 
 With a gold circle. In his room he there 
 Found Paris, busied with his shining arms, — 
 Corslet and shield ; he tried his curved bow; 
 While Argive Helen with the attendant maids 
 Was sitting, and appointed each a task. 
 Hector beheld, and chid him sharply thus : — 
 
 ' Strange man, a fitting time indeed is this, 
 
 » Iliad, b. i, 1. 331. Bryant's Translation, 1. 415-4-iO. 
 
WORKS OF THOBVALBSEN, 
 
 211 
 
 To indulge thy sullen humor, while in fight 
 
 Around our lofty walls the men of Troy 
 
 Are perishing, and for thy sake the war 
 
 Is fiercely blazing all around our town. 
 
 Thou wouldst thyself reprove him, shouldst thou see 
 
 Another warrior as remiss as thou 
 
 In time of battle. Rouse thee, then, and act, 
 
 Lest we behold our city all in flames.' " ' 
 
 The hero, stately and strong as an oak, stands erect and 
 motionless. He fixes a severe look upon his brother, who 
 appears confused at his base inaction. The valor and virtue 
 of Hector, the self-indulgence of Paris and Helen, are ex- 
 pressed with so much energy and delicacy, that this bas-relief 
 is inferior in neither strength nor beauty to the one repre- 
 senting " Priam begging Achilles for the Body of his Son." 
 
 Thorvaldsen made a repetition of "Hector and Paris"; 
 but the second model, in which there are some changes, is 
 not equal to the first. To follow more faithfully the text 
 of Homer, which describes Helen seated, surrounded by her 
 women and directing their work, he has added two female 
 figures, placed behind Paris, who appear to be deriding his 
 weakness. The artist, in thus adding to the poet, has cer- 
 tainly overshot the mark. In Homer, Helen might reproach 
 her ravisher for not being a gallant warrior, but her maids 
 would not have dared to turn the prince into ridicule by 
 oflTering him a distaff. The addition of these two figures, 
 and the want of decorum in their attitude, by taking from 
 the composition part of its truth, has also detracted from the 
 grandeur and simplicity which made it a work of the first 
 order. This is, however, the only error of the kind com- 
 mitted by the artist. ^ 
 
 illiad, Tj vi, 1. 414 se?. Bryant's Translation. 
 
 2 It is truo that the ancients, less scrupulous in this respect than the moderns, strove 
 first of all to explain the scene, often to the injury of the verisimilitude. In the 
 greater part of Thorvaldsen's bas-reliefs, the figures speak for themselves by their 
 attitudes, without any other explanation. S:e " Cupid leaving Psyche," " Hylas car- 
 ried away by the Nymphs." 
 
212 
 
 WORKS OF THORVALDSEJ^. 
 
 One of the most touching scenes in the Iliad is the inter- 
 view between Hector and Andromache at the Scaean gate. 
 The hero, on the point of leaving for the battle-field, meets 
 his wife, accompanied b}" the nurse bearing the young Asty- 
 anax. After having taken a tender farewell of his wife, — 
 
 " Mighty Hector stretched his arms 
 To take the boy ; the boy shrank crying back 
 To his fair nurse's bosom, scared to see 
 His father helmeted in glittering brass, 
 And eyeing with affright the horse-hair plume 
 That grimly nodded from the lofty crest. 
 At this both parents in their fondness laughed ; 
 And hastily the mighty Hector took 
 The helmet from his brow and laid it down 
 Gleaming upon the ground, and, having kissed 
 His darling son and tossed him up in play, 
 Prayed thus to Jove and all the gods of heaven : — 
 
 ' O Jupiter, and all ye deities. 
 Vouchsafe that this my son may yet become 
 Among the Trojans eminent like me. 
 And nobly rule in Ilium. May they say, 
 "This man is greater than his father was." ' " ' 
 
 Hector, raising his son in his arms and invoking the gods, 
 has his body inclined backward. Andromache, by a move- 
 ment of loving sadness, leans her forehead against her hus- 
 band's head. Paris, armed for the fight, comes to join his 
 brother. 
 
 The mind of Thorvaldsen, which interpreted the Ho- 
 meric scenes with so much loftiness and truth, lent itself 
 with equal facility to the expression of the graceful fancies 
 of the minor Greek poets. To interpret Anacreon was to 
 him a pastime, an every-day amusement. It is singular 
 that the artist should have given colossal proportions to the 
 first composition taken from the odes of this poet, — the group 
 
 1 Iliad, b. vi, 1. 597-615. Bryant's Translation. 
 
WORKS OF THOBVALBSEJSr. 
 
 213 
 
 of " Cupid and Mars," — to which he had intended to add two 
 other figures, Venus and Vulcan ; but a little later com- 
 posed instead a bas-relief, representing the whole scene of 
 the forty-fifth ode : — 
 
 " In his smithy at Lemnos the husband of Venus 
 Eor Cupid was forging some arrowlets small, 
 His mother, fair Cypris, the points dipped in honey, 
 Which Eros, the rogue, had made bitter with gall. 
 
 Just then from the battle great Mars, home returning, 
 
 Came by with a ponderous dart in his hand ; 
 He sneered at the lightness of Cupid's small arrows. 
 
 And thought that such weapons a gnat might withstand. 
 
 The little god handed him one of his arrows. 
 
 And said as he gave it, ' I think you will find 
 That mine is the heavier. Please you to try it.' 
 
 (Fair Venus, meanwhile, standing, smiling, behind.) 
 
 So Mars took the arrow ; but presently groaning, 
 ' Take it back ! take it back ! ' he cried with a sigh. 
 
 * Take it back ! take it back ! for me it 's too heavy,' 
 ♦You've got it, pray keep it,' was Cupid's reply." 
 
 The artist has expressed extremely well in his bas-relief 
 the astonishment of the god of war, and the malice of 
 Cupid Venus, by a graceful movement, turns to look at 
 Mars, while Vulcan continues his work. 
 
 The sculptor has been quite as successful in his rendering 
 of the fortieth ode of Anacreon, — " Cupid stung by a Bee." 
 Here the god is represented as an innocent child, uncon- 
 scious of the pain caused by his arrows. He runs to Venus 
 in tears to tell her "that he has been wounded by a little 
 winged serpent" ; and his mother replies, " If the sting of a 
 bee hurts you so much, think how much they must suflTer 
 whom you have pierced to the heart with your arrows ! " 
 
 In another work, it is, on the contrary, the pitiless con- 
 queror of the world, the SI3- and cruel god, who penetrates 
 
214 WORKS OF THOBVALDSEN. 
 
 into the dwelling of Anacreon. For the proper apprecia- 
 tion of the ingenuity of the composition, and the skill of the 
 sculptor, it is necessary to cite the entire third ode : — 
 
 * 'T was noon of night, when round the pole 
 The sullen Bear is seen to roll ; 
 And mortals, wearied with the day, 
 Are slumbering all their cares away : 
 An infant, at that dreary hour, 
 Came weeping to my silent bower, 
 And wak'd me with a piteous prayer, 
 To save him from the midnight air. 
 'And who art thou?' I, waking, cry, 
 
 * That bid'st my blissful visions fly? * 
 
 * gentle sire ! ' the infant said, 
 ' In pity take me to thy shed ; 
 Nor fear deceit : a lonely child, 
 I wander o'er the gloomy wild. 
 Chill drops the rain, and not a ray 
 Illumes the drear and misty way I ' 
 I hear the baby's tale of woe ; 
 
 I hear the bitter night winds blow ; 
 
 And, sighing for his piteous fate, 
 
 I trimm'd my lamp, and op'd the gate. 
 
 'T was Love ! the little wandering sprite, 
 
 His pinion sparkled through the night I 
 
 I knew him by his bow and dart, 
 
 I knew him by my fluttering heart. 
 
 I take him in, and fondly raise 
 
 The dying embers' cheering blaze ; 
 
 Press from his dank and clinging hair 
 
 The crystals of the freezing air. 
 
 And in my hand and bosom hold 
 
 His little fingers, thrilling cold. 
 
 And now the embers' genial ray 
 
 Had warmed his anxious fears away. 
 
 ' I pray thee,' said the wanton child 
 
 (My bosom trembled as he smiled), 
 
 ' I pray thee let me try my bow. 
 
 For through the rain I 've wander'd so, 
 
WORKS OF THOBVALDSEN. 
 
 215 
 
 That much I fear the ceaseless shower 
 
 Has injurYl its elastic power.' 
 
 The fatal bow the urchin drew ; 
 
 Swift from the string the arrow flew ; 
 
 Oh ! swift it flew as glancing flame, 
 
 And to my very soul it came. 
 
 *rare thee well,' I heard him say, 
 
 As laughing wild he wing'd away ; 
 
 * Fare thee well, for now I know 
 
 The rain has not relax'd my bow ; 
 
 It still can send a madd'ning dart. 
 
 As thou Shalt own with all thy heart.* " ' 
 
 Thorvaldsen has represented Anacreon seated, and has 
 placed near the poet his lyre, with the thyrsus and am- 
 phora of Bacchus. The old man is warming and drjdng 
 the wet child, who regards him with cool maliciousness, 
 while plunging an arrow into his heart. The antique grace 
 of the bas-relief is in such perfect harmony with the sub- 
 ject, and the philosophic idea of the Greek poet to whom 
 Plato gave the name of Sage is so happily expressed, that 
 nothing is wanting to this exquisite work, — to our thinking 
 the most agreeable of Anacreontic compositions. 
 
 Love bound by the Graces " is another charming fiction. 
 The god, with hands tied, is bound to a tree by chains of 
 roses. The three sisters, Ij'ing on the grass, are playing with 
 his arrows. But Love appears so little oflfended by their 
 sport that he remains a quiet prisoner, without making any 
 eflfort to free himself. And in fact, according to the thir- 
 tieth ode of Anacreon, when Venus, informed of the cap- 
 tivity of her son, hastens to ransom him, the released Cupid 
 refuses to leave the society of the Graces. 
 
 Amatory bas-reliefs by Thorvaldsen are very numerous ; 
 but in all these works, even in the most trifling, the in- 
 tention is never lascivious. At most, we find one or two 
 
 1 Translacion by Thomas MooM. 
 
2l6 
 
 WORKS OF THORVALBSEN. 
 
 compositions scarcely finished, representing sat3Ts and bac- 
 chantes, in imitation of the figures painted on the so-called 
 Etruscan vases, which could possibly be called equivocal, 
 
 In his lightest, as well as in his severest creations, the 
 artist alwaj's appears as much occupied by the idea as by the 
 form ; and thus he often succeeds in imparting a serious grace 
 to his compositions, without rendering them insipid, through 
 too much sweetness. This observation applies equally' to his 
 bas-reliefs and statues. 
 
 "The Shepherdess with a Nest of Loves" is a charming 
 creation. The young girl has before her every shade of the 
 tender passion, — faithful love, passionate love, and fickle 
 love, who flies awa}'' as fast as his wings will carrj- him. 
 This composition was suggested to the sculptor b^^ an an- 
 tique fresco, discovered in Pompeii, in the house called 
 Homer's (Casa Omerica). In this painting, a young woman 
 is holding a nest, and looking with delight at three babies 
 just come out of the egg.^ The artist intended, doubtless, to 
 represent Leda contemplating her three children, — Helen, 
 Castor, and Pollux. If Thorvaldsen's work bear some re- 
 semblance to the antique by the character and style of the 
 figures, the thought is not the same, and the execution wholly 
 difi'erent. 
 
 The idea of the bas-relief of " The Ages of Love " is taken 
 from a fresco, found at Stabise. In the antique painting, 
 " The Sale of Loves," ^ the figure of the saleswoman is quite 
 commonplace. But the Loves — sons of Mars, of Jupiter, 
 or of Mercur}^ — have distinct characteristics. Thorvaldsen 
 has carried this idea further, and represented with much deli- 
 cacy and ingenuity all the philosophic stor}^ of the great pas- 
 sion which reigns over the human race. To the infant, Love 
 is the unknown, exciting curiosity. The little girl questions 
 
 1 Compare the bas-relief of Thorvaldsen with the copy of the painting in the 
 "Real Museo Borhonico,'' vol. 1, pi. xxiv. 
 - Real Museo Borbonico, vol. i, pi. xxiv. 
 
WOBKS OF THOBVALDSEN. 217 
 
 him with a timid and innocent look ; tlie 3^oung maiden 
 soon makes him the object of her modest adoration ; then 
 follow the transports of passion, succeeded quickly by dis- 
 enchantment ; the wings of Love are drooping. The god 
 alights in conquering attitude on the shoulder of the grown 
 man, who bends beneath his weight ; and when the old man 
 calls him with a trembling voice, the mischievous child flies 
 away, deriding him who invokes him.^ 
 
 The bas-reliefs of Thorvaldsen, considered collectively, form 
 a work distinguished by its infinite variet3^ To turn alter- 
 nately from Homeric subjects to the lighter suggestions of 
 fancy seems to have been mental diversion only for the 
 sculptor. We have endeavored to point out the distinctive 
 characteristics of the great number of compositions which 
 attest a mind largely receptive of the beautiful, and rich in 
 creative power. Such a union of grace and strength, com- 
 bined with so fruitful an imagination, has been seldom vouch 
 safed to any artist. 
 
 1 Compare tlie song of Beranger, " La Fuite de I'Amour." 
 
REBECCA AND ELIEZER. 
 
WORKS OF THORVALDSEN. 
 
 219 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Thorv^aldsen considered as a Sculptor of Sacred Subjects. — The 
 Christ aud the Twelve Apostles. — Friezes. — The Pediment of 
 the Frue Kirke of Copenhagen. — Sepulchral Monuments. 
 
 0% 
 
 With regard to the re- 
 ligious works of Thor- 
 valdsen, most of which 
 are collected in the Fi^ue 
 Kirke at Copenhagen, 
 there is much diversity 
 of opinion, though no 
 one disputes their admi- 
 rable severity of style. 
 It was at Rome that 
 most of these were mod- 
 elled ; and before the 
 artist had completed his 
 first sketch, his o]3po- 
 nents were already striv- 
 ing to demonstrate that 
 it would be impossible 
 for him to give the 
 Christian idea its ade- 
 quate expression. 
 At this period, the so-called school of "Nazarenes" was 
 flourishing in Italy. The imitators of Overbeck had pushed 
 to exaggeration the tendencies of their master. This painter, 
 
 THE CHRIST. 
 
220 
 
 WOBKS OF THOnVALDSEN. 
 
 while studying Raphael, the pupil of Perugino, had allowed 
 himself to be carried away by his personal feeling for Fra 
 Angelico. His imitators went as far back as Giotto, and, to 
 secure the naivete of their model, they even borrowed his 
 processes of painting. Thorvaldsen could not lay claim to 
 the approbation of this school, which was indeed bitterly 
 hostile, and openl}^ denied to him the possession of the reli- 
 gious sentiment. On the other hand, the Lutheran Church, 
 which, from the severity of its principles, welcomes onh" with 
 reserve works of art in houses of worship, accepted Thor- 
 valdsen's, as being by their austerity the most reverent artis- 
 tic expression of revealed religion. 
 
 Upon entering the Frue Kirke at Copenhagen, we are 
 struck by the imposing aspect of the colossal figure of the 
 Christ, surrounded by the twelve apostles. Thorvaldsen fol- 
 lowed the counsel of Winckelmann : his Christ is as beautiful 
 as Raphael's or Leonardo da Vinci's. ^ The hair of the Saviour 
 is parted in the middle, after the fashion of the inhabitants of 
 Nazareth. The face is not perhaps in perfect harmonj^ with 
 the general character of the statue. The Man-God is stand- 
 ing ; and we are almost surprised to see that gentle head, so 
 pure and delicate in drawing, bowed down upon a breast as 
 broad as that of Hercules. The strong arms are stretched 
 out with a loving gesture, as though calling to him all who 
 are sorrowful and heavy laden ; but the stout legs attach to 
 the earth the Master of the world ; and we ask ourselves if 
 
 1 " Modern artists ought to have foi'med their figures of the Saviour conformably to 
 the ideas which the ancients entertained of the beauty of their heroes, and thus made 
 him correspond to the prophetic declaration, which announces him as the most beau- 
 tiful of the children of men. But the idea of most figures of him, beginning with 
 Michel Angelo. appears to be borrowed from the barbarous works of the Middle 
 Ages, and there can be nothing more ignoble than the face in such heads of Christ. 
 How much more noble the conceptions of Raphael are may be seen in a small orig- 
 inal drawing, in the lloyal Farnese Museum at Naples, which represents our Saviour's 
 burial, and in which his head exhibits the beauty of a young hero without beard. . . . 
 But if such a face should possibly appear to the artist a scandalous innovation on the 
 customary representation of the Saviour with a beard, let him study the Saviour of 
 Leonardo da Vinci." Winckelmann. vol. ii, pp. 89-90. Lodge's Translation, 
 
WORKS OF THORVALDSEW. 
 
 221 
 
 this can be that same Christ, that diaphanous figure which 
 glided over the surface of the waters. 
 
 The Christ is placed in front of the chancel, and the 
 apostles are arranged in opposite rows down the na,ve. St. 
 Peter and St. Paul are nearest their divine Master. Upon the 
 Saviour's right, after St. Peter come Matthew, John, James 
 the Less, Philip, and Thaddeus. On the left, next to St. 
 Paul, are Simon Zelotes, Bartholomew, James the Greater, 
 Thomas, and Andrew. 
 
 To each of these figures the artist has given a distinct 
 individuality. St. Peter expresses faith, St. Paul the power 
 of the Gospel ; there is more of gentleness and love in the 
 features of St. John ; an austere resignation is imprinted 
 upon the countenance of St. Simon. Nevertheless, in atti- 
 tude and disposition of drapery, in the severity as well as 
 beauty of the types, the apostles are less like saints and mar- 
 tyrs than philosophers and sages. 
 
 "The Angel of Baptism" has a more Christian aspect. 
 There is an expression of ecstasy mingled with the conven- 
 tional serenity of the face which is more allied to religious 
 sentiment. Kneeling in the centre of the nave, this angel 
 holds a large shell-shaped vase for holy water. 
 
 These great works do not compose the whole of the inte- 
 rior adornment of the Frue Kirke. Behind and above the 
 altar is the frieze representing our Lord on the road to Cal- 
 vary, extremely well composed, but somewhat feeble in 
 execution. Upon the walls of the side aisles are two other 
 friezes, "The Baptism of Jesus" and "The Lord's Supper." 
 Above the alms-chest is a small bas-relief illustrative of 
 Christian charity ; and, opposite, " The Guardian Angel." 
 
 When Thorvaldsen made the model for the Supper, the 
 Copenhagen world was astonished at first, and almost shocked, 
 at the sight of so unconventional a composition. The Saviour 
 is represented standing, while his apostles, kneeling, are 
 grouped around him ; an arrangement which implies that 
 
222 
 
 LIFE OF THORVALDSEN. 
 
 the institution of the eucharist took place after the Master 
 and his disciples had risen from the table. But people 
 soon became reconciled to this new idea, which after all 
 has nothing in it precisely contrary to the traditions of the 
 Church. 
 
 The portal of the Frue Kirke is surmounted by an immense 
 frieze, " Christ's Entry into Jerusalem" ; and, lastly, the ped- 
 iment is composed of an admirable composition in terra cotta, 
 " The Preaching of St. John the Baptist." Following the 
 wise method adopted b}^ the Greeks i to give greater play of 
 light and shade, Thorvaldsen did not content himself with 
 carving this pediment in half-relief : he has, on the contrarj^, 
 composed it of entirely detached figures. This work is 
 stamped with the character proper to the Biblical scene. 
 The subject was more suited to the sculptor's turn of mind. 
 It was not God himself he had to portray, but simply him 
 who is the forerunner of God. The hour of struggle and 
 martyrdom had not 3- et struck, and Christianity existed only 
 in the mind of the Precursor. 
 
 1 " After the proofs furnished us by the superb discovery of eighteen figures from 
 the two pediments of the temple of ^gina, the vast groups of more than forty colos- 
 sal statues of the two pediments of the Parthenon, the description by Diodorus of 
 the sculptures in the pediments of the temples of the Olympian Jupiter at Agrigen- 
 tum, and that which Pausanias gives of the groups which once stood in the pediments 
 of the temples at Olympia, Tegea, Thebes, Delphi, etc.. — after all these proofs, what 
 can be more certain than the fact that the Greeks, in the finest period of their archi- 
 tecture, always placed in the pediments of their great peripteral temples, whether 
 hexastylc or octostyle, entire figures and never bas-reliefs ? And how could this fact, 
 re-established by purely historical methods, be better supported, or how could the 
 question, why did the Greeks lay down and practise such a rule, be better answered, 
 than by our evcry-day experience ; which teaches us that only figures entirely de- 
 tached from the background and sculptured in complete relief are capable of produc- 
 in'^ the proper efi'ect, when seen at a considerable height, whilst all sculptures in low 
 relief are wanting in that most material point, depth of shadow and the decision of 
 contour which results from it, — matters indispens.ably necessary if a figure placed at 
 any considerable elevation is to be seen clearly and distinctly." Thus says Brond- 
 Bted (Voj'age en Grece) , and he adds that this rule is not now followed (1830), be- 
 cause "we are always accustomed in our schools to confine ourselves to the imitated 
 models of the Komans," whilst we neglect the axiom of the Greeks : '• The capital 
 ornament, the great pediment adorned with sculptures, should stand out boldly, like a 
 vaat diadem, sharply and artistically carved, crowning the whole edifice." 
 
WOBKS OF THOBVALDSEN. 223 
 
 " The Preaching of St. John the Baptist," a complex work, 
 merits an attentive examination. The character of the 
 figures, the idea they express, the contrasts between them, 
 — all contribute toward the harmonious general arrange- 
 ment of the composition. The Baptist is in the centre : his 
 attitude is noble, natural, and decorous. He stands upon a 
 rock, which raises him above his audience. He speaks, ana 
 points to heaven. It is not by a fiery eloquence that he ia 
 seeking to persuade ^ his words are simple, because they pro- 
 claim the coming of the Word of Truth. The conviction 
 which takes possession of the minds of his hearers expresses 
 itself in the several attitudes of each. It is profound in the 
 man nearest St. John, who is deep in thought while waiting 
 to be baptized ; simple and spontaneous in the women ; 
 irresistible in the j-outh, who already manifests an impatient 
 fervor. The doctor, habituated to discussion, does not re- 
 ceive so readily the new ideas : he only yields after mature 
 reflection. The Pharisee, in his pride, protests against words 
 which astonish, but do not touch him ; while the sportsman, 
 whom accident has brought to the spot, gives himself up 
 unresistingly to his emotion. His dog is occupying the 
 attention of two children ; whilst the last person in the 
 scene, a shepherd, looks on with indifi*erence. The most 
 beautiful part of the composition, to our mind, is a group of 
 two figures on the right of the Saint. A young man, alreadj^ 
 converted, leans upon the shoulder of his father, and watches 
 with an unspeakable expression of sweetness and pious satis- 
 faction the impression produced by the Baptist's words. The 
 father's manly face is uplifted, he seems struck with aston- 
 ishment ; and we feel that he will say presentl}^, like the 
 Pauline of Corneille, " Je vols, je crois, je suis desabuse." 
 
 Throughout the whole composition the emotions of the 
 mind are more deeply marked on the countenances of the 
 auditors than is usually permitted by the rules of Greek art. 
 
 The arrangement of the pediment is skilfully studied witl^ 
 
224 WOEKS OF THOBVALDSEJSr. 
 
 a view to harmony. The figures, whether standing or 
 leaning, seated or lying down, whether differing in age, 
 height, or costume, form (according to the rule of Mengs) 
 a pjTamid, though their heads are not ranged in a perfectly 
 straight line, which would be both monotonous and unnat- 
 ural. 
 
 Two figures designed for a part of this immense composi- 
 tion have been left out : one, a Roman soldier, leaning against 
 a rock ; the other, a Jew sitting on the ground. Though both 
 are fine, it is not strange that Thorvaldsen excluded them. 
 We do not see how they could have been added without 
 destroying the harmon}^ of outline of the pediment. As it 
 now stands, the "Preaching of St. John the Baptist" is an 
 admirable work. There is true feeling in the figures, and 
 the composition is happy and skilful ; while the grand thought 
 that should be dominant in the scene is Yeiy correctly ex- 
 pressed. 
 
 The philosophic rather than the strictly Christian charac- 
 ter of Thorvaldsen's religious works is more strikingly mani- 
 fested in his sepulchral monuments, — in the tomb of the 
 Duke of Leuchtenberg, for example. Eugene de Beauhar- 
 nais, step-son of Napoleon I, and Viceroy of Italy, remained 
 devoted to the Emperor in adversity as well as in prosperity, 
 and refused to purchase at the price of treason the throne 
 which the allied sovereigns offered to guarantee to him. The 
 monument erected in the Church of St, Michael in Munich 
 represents the prince on the point of descending into the 
 tomb, upon the door of which is inscribed his device, — 
 " Honor and Fidelity." He is in Roman costume, and has 
 laid aside his helmet and breast-plate, retaining only his 
 loyal sword. He presses his left hand to his heart, and pre- 
 sents to the Muse of History the onl}^ thing which remains 
 to him, — his crown of laurel. Standing beside him on the 
 left is the Angel of Death, upon whom is leaning the Genius 
 of Immortality. There is nothing particularly religious in 
 
WOBKS OF TROBYALDSEm 
 
 225 
 
 this composition, but it expresses with grandeur a noble sen- 
 timent. 
 
 The absence of the Christian idea is no less striking in the 
 beautiful marble placed over the tomb of Prince Potocki, in 
 the cathedral of Cracow, which represents the 3"oung hero 
 clothed in the antique costume. It might be taken for a 
 Marcus Aurelius. 
 
 In the mausoleum of the illustrious and able defender of 
 the church, Cardinal Consalvi, the artist has succeeded in 
 expressing happily the Catholic idea ; but in the monument 
 of Pius VII there is, perhaps, an aiming after grandeur and 
 force hardly in keeping with Christian humilit3^ Here we 
 find, also, as in the tomb of the Duke of Leuchtenberg, a 
 species of compromise between the Catholic dogma and 
 Greek mythology, — a result of carrying the doctrines of 
 Winckelmann to extremes, a common mistake of artists at 
 this period. Canova, in the tombs of Clement XIII and 
 Clement XIV, had already expressed grief, gentleness, and 
 moderation under the figure of slightl}^ clothed and almost 
 pagan genii. ^ Thorvaldsen, having to personify wisdom and 
 strength, also went back to heathen sources. The Greeks 
 worshipped these virtues under the forms of Minerva 
 and Hercules ; and the artist has scarcely done more than 
 appropriate, with a change of name and attribute, these 
 types. 
 
 Wisdom bears on her breast the aegis, but a cherub's head 
 has been substituted for the Medusa ; a crown of laurel re- 
 places the helmet ; the Bible serves for the shield. At her 
 side is the symbolic owl. 
 
 As Hercules could not be transformed into a woman for 
 the second statue, lole replaces him, clothed in his lion's 
 skin, which covers her head, and falls over her shoulders ; 
 but, disdaining brutal force, she tramples under foot the club, 
 
 1 Etudes sur les Beaux- Arts, by M. H. Delaborde. 
 
226 
 
 WORKS OF THOEVALDSEN-. 
 
 and crosses her arras on her breast to express by this attitude 
 her trustful resignation to the 'will of God.^ 
 
 In his large number of bas-reliefs intended for tombs, 
 genii most frequently figure, while the symbols of the Chris- 
 tian faith are rarely emplo3'ed. Man}^ of these bas-reliefs 
 might ornament a Roman mausoleum, as they seldom con- 
 vey any religious thought but the immortality of the soul. 
 The monument of the Baroness Chandr}^, however, presents 
 to view the figure of a woman pressing a cross fervently to 
 her breast. Draped in her shroud, with uplifted head, she 
 seems to spring toward heaven, rising in air with the light- 
 ness of an impalpable form. 
 
 Thorvaldsen had been educated in the Lutheran faith : he 
 lived at Rome in an atmosphere of Catholicism, at a time of 
 great political agitation, and when, as it is well known, all 
 beliefs were shaken. The mind of the artist was affected by 
 these uncertainties, and the result was indifl'erence. A friend 
 once remarking to him that his want of religious faith must 
 make it difficult for him to express Christian ideas in his 
 works, — "If I were altogether an unbeliever," he replied, 
 " whj^ should that give me any trouble? Have I not repre- 
 sented pagan divinities? — still, I don't believe in them." 
 
 In speaking thus, the sculptor, in our opinion, has given 
 the key to the character of his works. Tliey are the product 
 of his fine intellect : his heart bore no part in their creation. 
 
 Thorvaldsen held fast to his artistic faith, even when 
 
 1 Stendhal, in his Tromenades dans Rome," speaks several times of Thorvaldsen, 
 and, generally, in no friendly spirit. He judges of the merit of the artist only from 
 the tomh of I'ius VII. He says of this monument : *' I saw it in an advanced state 
 in his atelier (1828). There are, as usual, three colossal figures, the Pope and two 
 Virtues. Pius VII is represented seated, and giving the benediction. With a little 
 audacity, he might have been represented standing, and replying to the anger of Na- 
 poleon. One of the Virtues is ' Wisdom,' reading a book ; the other is ' Strength of 
 Character,' clothed in the lion's skin, with crossed arms, and eyes raised to heaven. 
 If this work is superior to all the commonplace tombs we find in St. Peter's, we must 
 thank the revolution efibcted in art by the illustrious David. That great artist a tue. 
 la qtieue du Bernin, — has given the finishing blow to Bernini and his train. (I ask 
 pardon for this mot of a great painter, — one of my friends.) " 
 
WOBKS OF TH0BVALD8EN. 227 
 
 illustrating Christian subjects. He never abjured his worship 
 of severe beauty, as the Greeks understood it. We find in 
 his statues one reminiscence only of Gothic art. The medi- 
 aeval sculptors often produced a pleasing spiral effect in the 
 borders of their draperies. We recognize a similar effect in 
 the figures of the apostles. Was it the instinct of his race 
 which here revealed itself? We are more inclined to think 
 that the artist found similar examples in some antique works 
 in which they exist, and that his clear-sighted mind saw the 
 use to which they might be put. In fact, Thorvaldsen's style 
 is wholly derived from the Greeks ; and even in his Chris- 
 tian subjects he followed the heirs of those great masters, 
 who, having settled in Italy, were the first to reproduce 
 in mosaic the Christ, the Virgin, and the Apostles. ^ The 
 Danish sculptor was acquainted with these Greco-Latin 
 mosaics. The st3de of the great school of antiquity had 
 doubtless much degenerated in the hands of the artists exe- 
 cuting them. Nevertheless, those artists, still in love with 
 beaut}^, had not altogether lost the tradition of it. 
 
 The worship of the beautiful in form is, we need not say, 
 no obstacle to the expression of religious feeling. But, for 
 the work to be thoroughly stamped with this feeling, the 
 man must put into it all the fervor with which his soul is 
 filled. Thorvaldsen had not the enthusiasm which comes of 
 faith : aiming, above all, at beauty, if he ever animates his 
 figures, it is with philosophic thought ; and his works are 
 more fitted to satisfy the mind of the thinker than the 
 heart of the Christian. 
 
 1 Such works exist at Rome, in the churches of St. Cosmo and St. Damian, St. 
 Praxedes, St. Prudentiana, St. Paul without the walls, and St. Maria Maggiore. 
 
THE ARMS OF ACHILLES. 
 
WOBKS OF THORVALhSEN. 
 
 229 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Thorvaldsen's Rapidity of Conception. — Severity of his Judgments 
 upon his own Works. — The Fire of First Inspiration tempered 
 by Reflection. — Creative Genius. — Canova. — Bartolini. — Er- 
 ror of Mme. de Stael. — The Scandinavian Genius of Thorvald- 
 sen applies the Principles of Greek Art. 
 
 The first impression upon visiting the 
 Thorvaldsen Museum in Copenhagen 
 is amazement at the great productive- 
 ness of the artist. The vast galleries, 
 the long corridors, the numerous 
 rooms of this Etruscan palace, the 
 lofty walls, and even the staircase, 
 are all filled and lined with statues 
 and bas-reliefs ; and the catalogue 
 which guides the stranger through 
 this immense museum, enclosing, also, 
 the modest tomb of the sculptor, con- 
 tains no less than six hundred and 
 forty-eight numbers. In presence of 
 such a wealth of original composi- 
 tions, it is difficult to understand how 
 any critic could represent Thorvald- 
 sen as a patient imitator, entirely 
 wanting in imagination. 
 As we have alread}^ seen in the 
 APOLLO. histor}' of his life, the Danish artist 
 
 was especially distinguished for the 
 creative power of his mind. The accident of his birth, in the 
 
230 
 
 WOBKS OF THOBVALDSEN. 
 
 first place, but, much more, a strong vocation, made him a 
 sculptor. That which was toil to his father was the pastime 
 of his childhood. While still very young, he was gifted with 
 extraordinary natural facility, composing and sketching upon 
 the spur of the moment with all the unconsciousness of 
 youth. Throughout his whole career, he found in himself 
 this innate resource ; but far from abusing it, even in his 
 3'outh, he was distrustful of this precious gift. 
 
 His fears, his school-boy terror, when competing for the 
 Aca,demy prize, are proofs of this. From the beginning 
 he seemed to understand all the difficulties in the way of 
 the artist who would devote himself seriously to his pro- 
 fession. 
 
 The same feeling led him when he first went to Rome to 
 study the antique with such indefatigable patience, and made 
 him alwa^'s dissatisfied with his first essays, which he de- 
 stroyed as soon as made. 
 
 In all the plenitude of his power, and even of his fame, 
 Thorvaldsen continued to be severe toward himself. He 
 was quick in conception, and composed with great facility. 
 When he wished to celebrate, for instance, the birthday of 
 his friend the Baroness von Schubart, a few da3^s suflSced 
 him to design and execute the charming bas-relief of " The 
 Dance of the Muses." 
 
 Conception with the master, therefore, was ever rapid, 
 the first execution easy ; but the disciple of Winckelmann 
 possessed too refined a taste to be easily satisfied, and con- 
 sequentl}' he thought long over his works, retouched, 
 matured his plan, and in many instances made a new com- 
 position. In his mind's ej^e, he saw an ideal so lofty and 
 perfect that he could not easily attain to it : hence, his 
 hesitations, his severity with himself when other artists 
 would have been proud of their work. Nevertheless, with a 
 thorough comprehension of the extent of his abilities, when 
 he believed he had touched the goal he stopped. 
 
WORKS OF THOBVALDSEN. 
 
 231 
 
 Nothing is more interesting than to study the collection 
 of small, rough models. in one of the rooms on the first floor 
 of the Copenhagen IMuseum. In them the observer beholds 
 the mind of the artist wrestling with his subject : he is 
 present, as it were, at the birth of the idea, and sees its first 
 expression ; then come the retouches, the successive altera- 
 tions, up to the final completion of the work. 
 
 "The Christ" is one of the subjects upon which the sculp- 
 tor was the longest engaged. In the first sketch, which is 
 undraped and purely anatomical, the upper part of the body 
 is inclined backward by a very marked movement. The 
 head is raised, the eyes uplifted to heaven. 1 "The Christ" 
 is advancing, he stops, looks up to heaven, and pronounces 
 a benediction. Such must have been the first idea of the 
 sculptor. 
 
 In the second sketch, the figure is draped, and smaller. 
 The attitude is almost the same, but calmer, and the inclina- 
 tion of the head backward is less violent. 
 
 Then comes a model in plaster, larger and in a more 
 advanced state of completion. The head is erect, the eyes 
 looking forward. Both arms are extended by a simple ac- 
 tion, as though inviting men to come to their Redeemer. 
 The face has emerged from the formless block of the first 
 studies: it is calm and noble. The draper}^ is long, and 
 trails on the ground. The body, meagre in the first sketches, 
 is now fully developed, and the chest is broad. Still, in its 
 finished state, the statue, in some important points, differs 
 widely from this model. Both feet rest on the ground by a 
 powerful action ; while the head, slightly inclined forward, is 
 expressive of sweetness and benevolence. 
 
 The attitude of "The Christ" was definitely settled in a 
 rough model, which is not in this collection. This is the 
 
 ^This figuic has no arms, but, from the action of the shoulders, it is probable that 
 ihe right arm was to be raised, and the left extended. The body rests on the left 
 foot, the light foot is thrown back, and Ufted from the ground. 
 
232 
 
 WOBKS OF THORVALDSEX. 
 
 story, as related to us by the Danish professor who was with 
 Thorvaldsen in his studio at Rome, at the time : — 
 
 "The master and I were going out to a party, and, just as we were 
 crossing the threshold, he turned back, and I followed him. He 
 stopped in front of his ' Christ,' and looked at it some moments, 
 without uttering a word. The clay statuette had the head erect, one 
 of the arms raised, the other extended. Suddenly, the artist ad- 
 vanced with a firm step, like a man who has just made up his mind, 
 and seizing the arms bent both down by a quick movement. With a 
 few hasty touches, he soon reshaped them, and taking a few steps 
 backward, cried out, 'There is my "Christ"! That is the way it 
 shall be.' He then hurried me away, and we left the atelier." 
 
 Thorvaldsen did, however, make some farther alterations 
 in this masterly work ; but the general attitude which gives 
 to the figure of Christ the benignant majesty of the Olympian 
 Jupiter remained unchanged from this moment. 
 
 This anecdote seems worth preserving, because it paints to 
 the life the artist's character, and exhibits also the turn of his 
 mind, and his method of working. His first conceptions 
 were perfectly free, and not wanting even in a certain im- 
 petuosity, as can be shown by the attitudes of man}' of his 
 sketches. 1 It was only by reflection and studj^ that he suc- 
 ceeded in tempering this violent action, and thus gave to his 
 statues that calm and grand aspect which he admired in the 
 Greek style, and which has sometimes brought upon him the 
 accusation of coldness. 
 
 Thorvaldsen's geniusi was eminently creative : he dis- 
 pla3^ed the utmost ardor in his manipulation of the clay, in 
 his efibrts to extract from it the form which his mind had 
 conceived, to give to it the impress of his thought When 
 it seemed to him that it sufl3ciently expressed his idea, he 
 himself made the plaster cast, which generall}' he finished 
 with care, and consigned to his workmen as a model : it was 
 
 1 Compare also the attitude of Achilles in the two variations of the bas-relief of the 
 "Abduction of Briseis"; that of Alexander, &c. 
 
WOBKS OF THOBVALBSEN. 233 
 
 their task to translate it into marble. This work was done 
 under his own eye, in his ateliers : he constantly superin- 
 tended it, very often retouching and sometimes finishing it 
 with his own hand. 
 
 This manner of working gave artists, envious of his suc- 
 cess, occasion to say that no doubt he knew how to model 
 tolerably well, but that he could not cut the marble. Once 
 when such remarks were repeated to him, "Bring me a 
 block of Carrara or Paros," he said, "take away my chisel, 
 tie my hands, and I will make a statue come out of it with 
 my teeth." 
 
 Nothing, indeed, could be more unjust than such a criti- 
 cism ; and the " Adonis'* of the Glyptothek of Munich, which 
 was wholly executed by the artist, according to the agree- 
 ment made with Prince Louis of Bavaria, is its most elo- 
 quent and unanswerable refutation. 
 
 Ought we to regret that Thorvaldsen did not, as in this 
 case, finish in marble with his own hands all his works ? If 
 the artist had, in every instance, undertaken this labor, we 
 might have been the richer by a few statues perfect as the 
 "Adonis," 1 but we should have lost, perhaps, more than one 
 of the best creations of the master .2 
 
 Thorvaldsen and Canova have been so often compared, 
 
 1 The marbles executed by his pupils are not always done as carefully as the models 
 of the master. Thus, to form a correct judgment of Thorvaldsen's work, it is neces- 
 sary to see the collection o€ plaster models in the Copenhagen Museum. 
 
 2 Is it not reasonable to suppose that the greatest sculptors of Greece pursued the 
 same course in this respect as the Danish artist ? One writer even asserts that they 
 were accustomed to divide their works into several pieces, so as to employ a greater 
 number of assistants : — 
 
 '' Who does not know (and we could cite here examples and authorities) that the 
 great artists of antiquity, intrusted, as they were, with immense works, almost be- 
 yond the conception of modern times, made use of the expeditious method of cutting 
 up their models, which they delivered, thus divided, to their workmen, in order to 
 accelerate the work, and render their subalterns more useful, to whom, as it often 
 happened, they abandoned entirely the execution of certain accessories, which, in the 
 finest works, are sometimes treated with a great deal of negligence, and little senti- 
 ment?" — Bouillon's Musee des Antiques, vol i La Venus de ilfe7os, treatise by J. 
 B. Saint- Victor. 
 
234 WOBKS OF THOBVALBSEN. 
 
 that it is not possible to conclude a sketch of the Danish 
 sculptor without sajnng something also of his illustrious rival. 
 I n ever}' age, such comparisons have alwaj^s been instituted ; 
 and, in comparing Canova and Thorvaldsen, we have the 
 advantage of regarding them from the same starting-point, 
 as both artists seem to have been influenced by the same 
 traditions. 
 
 A great French sculptor of our time, — David d' Angers, — 
 comparing the talent of the two artists, has declared his 
 preference for the Italian master, because he does not feel 
 himself so quickly touched by the work of the Danish sculp' 
 tor, whose eminent beauties, he saj^s, only reveal themselves 
 after long stud3\ 
 
 We can oppose to this judgment that of another sculptor, 
 of equally great merit, who said to us not long ago : — 
 
 " Before Canova's works, I always feel on the defensive. I fear to 
 allow my judgment to be taken captive by the excessive grace of the 
 figures, and by the extreme skilfulness of the execution, which often 
 conceals real faults. The pretty little taper-fingered hand of the 
 Princess Borghese, in the character of Venus, maybe charming; but 
 it is full of airs and affectation, and is surely neither natural nor 
 antique. With Thorvaldsen, on the contrary, I do not fear any such 
 artifices : my mind is tranquil. I prefer him to Canova for his greater 
 breadth of style, and because his work is truer and more correct." 
 
 If, in some of the works of the Danish sculptor, we per- 
 ceive hands a little coarse, feet rather large, this very fault is 
 a proof that Thorvaldsen was very far from tvj'mg to capti- 
 vate the taste by any excessive refinement. 
 
 In following the art movement which was the result of 
 Winckelmann's theories, Canova is, in realit^^, neither Greek 
 nor Eoman. His work, though worthy in other respects of 
 the admiration which it excites, is full of the pett}^ artifices 
 of his Italian predecessors, and has, as it were, only put on 
 the antique garb. 
 
 To Canova nature was pleasing and coquettish, rather than 
 
WOBKS OF THOBVALDSEN. 
 
 grand and powerful ; and if he claim kindred with the an- 
 tique, it is by his imitation of the artists of the third period 
 of Greek art, who are to Phidias what Guido is to Raphael. 1 
 He was attracted by preference to those suave qualities 
 characteristic of the epoch when grace was all-powerful, and 
 he generally succeeded better in delicate compositions than 
 in figures of force. The beautiful forms of his groups have 
 something undulating about them which charms the ej'e, 
 and leads the mind to tender thoughts, — a penetrating influ- 
 ence over the senses which brings back memories of Cythe- 
 rean Greece. 
 
 There is nothing of this sort about Thorvaldsen's work ; 
 and therefore those who are in the habit of contrasting the 
 two artists find him cold, after Canova. The Danish sculptor 
 was more austere, more philosophic in his quest of the beau- 
 tiful. As to his illustrious contemporarj", the Florentine 
 Bartolini, he also belongs to the school of artists who fol- 
 lowed Winckelmann, in their worship of the Greek antique. 
 His horror of imitation, however, rendered him more inde- 
 dependent than either Canova or Thorvaldsen, and he went 
 first of all to nature for the form and expression of his 
 figures. 
 
 An eminent critic, whose opinions are authorit}' in matters 
 of art, has devoted to Bartolini a most interesting paper, in 
 which we find this estimate of Canova and Thorvaldsen : — 
 
 "Considered in itself," says M. Henri Delaborde,^ " tlie manner 
 of the autlior of the ' Madeleine,' ' The Danseuses,' and the ' Vemis ' 
 of the Pitti Palace, is more pleasing than beautiful. It originates in 
 the artist's desire to conform himself to antique examples ; but these 
 examples Canova has weakened, in adjusting them to suit the rather 
 narrow limits of modern taste. He mixes up the Greek simplicity 
 with a pretentious grace, an equivocal elegance, — in a word, he treats 
 antiquity as he does nature : he tries to embellish both. In shelter- 
 ing somewhat his personal responsibility under a semblance of classic 
 
 1 Winckelmann. 
 
 2 Etudes sur les Beaux- Arts. 
 
236 
 
 WORKS OF THORVALDSEJSr. 
 
 art, he succeeds iu adroitly counterfeiting a resemblance, but does 
 not express with dignitj^ a truth. 
 
 "Thorvaldsen had talent and aspirations of a wholly different 
 order. Although he sometimes strives for elegance, and attains it, 
 as, for example, in his ' Night,' or his ' Mercury Argiphontes,' he gen- 
 erally aims only at grandeur, and this end he sometimes attains. His 
 'Lion of Lucerne,' his bas-reliefs of the 'Triumph of Alexander,' and 
 many of his allegorical figures, are distiyiguisLed for imagination and 
 force." 
 
 Thorvaldsen exerted much influence upon almost all the 
 sculptors who came to Rome in his day. To association with 
 him, Ranch is indebted for the purity of his st3'le : the Ger- 
 man artist established subsequently a school where the prin- 
 ciples of high art were taught. From this school issued 
 Rietschel,! of Dresden ; Drake 2 and Albert Wolfr,^ of Ber- 
 lin ; Blaeser, of Cologne, — who all tried to keep art in the 
 path traced out by their masters. Schadow and Schwan- 
 thaler were friends of the sculptor, and they profited by his 
 counsels. At Copenhagen, Thorvaldsen' s influence has been 
 kept alive by Bissen ; at Rome, by Tenerani,^ Louis Bien- 
 aime, Pierre Galli,^ and Emile WolflT.^ 
 
 1 Rietschel executed a large number of public works. He died four years ago. 
 
 2 Drake is a countryman of Rauch : like him he was born in the principality of 
 Waldeck. At the Universal Exposition of Fine Arts, held in the Champ de Mara 
 (1867), he obtained one of the grand prizes for his equestrian statue of King William 
 of Prussia. 
 
 3 Albert Wolff has executed several public monuments in Germany. 
 ^Tenerani, now (1867) seventy-eight years old, lives in Rome. He has recently 
 
 completed the monument to I'ope l*ius VIII in St. Peter's. 
 
 c Galli is the last pupil who worked with Thorvaldsen. It was he who, during the 
 absence of the sculptor, had charge of the atelier. He executed, for tlie Torlonia 
 Palace, a series of medallions, sketched only by the master. (See Catalogue.) Later 
 he composed a large number of small statues and bas-reliefs, which now decorate the 
 loggia of the Vatican, and merit the esteem of men of taste. His larger statues are 
 less happy. 
 
 c Emile Wolff is settled in Rome, where he enjoys a deseiwed reputation. He has 
 followed religiously the principles of his master, for whom he cherishes a deep and 
 toucliing veneration. Among his numerous works, we cite the statue of Prince Al- 
 bert, in the Isle of Wight; '-The Wounded Amazon," at Eaton Hall, the residence 
 of the Marquis of Westminster; "Victory "on the Schlossbriicke, in Berlin; ''The 
 Four Seasons," bas-reUefs, of which one — " Winter" — has been repeated more than 
 fifty times in marble. 
 
WOBKS OF THOBVALDSEN. 
 
 237 
 
 Thorvaldsen has therefore founded a school in Germany as 
 well as in Italy ; but, Mme. de Stael 1 to the contrary not- 
 withstanding, the artist is not German. He belongs to the 
 Scandinavian race : its genius and character were his. This 
 race of the extreme north, somewhat rude, simple and 
 proud, kind and hospitable, has in all ages delighted in 
 noble things. The poetry of its earliest bards was warlike 
 and chaste. It has believed always in the immortality of 
 the soul, — in a future life broader and grander than the 
 earthl}^, where warriors would love and fight after the fashion 
 of gods. With us, the long days of summer are accepted as 
 a right ; but, with the Scandinavians, these same days, so nig- 
 gardl}" counted out, are welcomed as a benefaction of Nature ; 
 and when the grass is green, and the meadows enamelled 
 with flowers, — when the sun gilds the tops of the lofty 
 pines, and the breeze gently ripples the surface of the great 
 lakes, the North holds high festival, and the entire people 
 celebrate the joj^ous season with wild and tender hymns, in 
 tones full of freshness and force. 
 
 It was, indeed, the pure and vigorous sap of the Scandina- 
 vian race which flowed in the veins of the Danish artist, and 
 which he infused into Greek art, b}^ a graft upon its stoutest 
 and strongest branch. But he was not a parasite plant : on 
 the contrary, he gave to the tree his own strong support. If 
 Thorvaldsen idealized his figures by the use of Greek pro- 
 cesses and according to the aesthetic principles developed by 
 
 iln her book on Germany, Mme. de Stael says: "A Dane, Thorvaldsen, edu- 
 cated in Germany, now rivals Canova in Rome. His ' Jason ' resembles him whom 
 Pindar describes as the handsomest of men. He holds a lance in his hand, and the 
 repose of conscious strength characterizes the hei'o." It is so far from being true 
 that Thorvaldsen was educated in Germany, that it was not until 1819, when he was 
 fifty years old, that he first set foot in that country. Mme. de Staiil's error comes un- 
 doubtedly from an article by A. W. Schlegel in the " Jenaer AUgemcine Zeitung" 
 (ISOS.Intell.. n 120, p. 1006). " Thorvaldsen, to whom in one way we can lay claim, 
 for though born a Dane he speaks our language like a native, and his culture is wholly 
 German." Herr Thiele truly remarks that the artist, who did not visit Germany 
 until he was already old, never could have spoken German as correctly as this writer 
 maintains. 
 
238 
 
 WOBKS OF THOBVALDSEN. 
 
 Winckelmann, he sought for his models in nature : he drew 
 directly from the fountain head. It was the grand tournure, 
 the distinction of style, he essayed to borrow. His works 
 will maintain a high rank in the esteem of men, not only 
 because they are the most complete expression, and one of 
 the highest, of the tendencies of the age, but also because 
 they are the product of an original mind, — of a genius true 
 and individual. 
 
CATALOGUE 
 
 OF 
 
 THORYALDSEN'S WORKS. 
 
We have not thought it necessary in this Catalogue to follow the chronological 
 order, however interesting that arrangement might prove. In a list of works as 
 numerous and varied as those of Thorvaldsen, the classification by subjects seemed to 
 us to offer greater advantages, as tending to avoid confusion and facilitate research. 
 Besides, the first part of the volume, the biographical part, has already given an 
 almost complete chronological classification ; and, to leave nothing to be desired on 
 this point, care has been talien to place at the end of each description in the Cata- 
 logue the date when the work was produced. The valuable labors of Messrs. Thiele 
 and MUller have been of great assistance in the performance of this task ; and, thanks 
 to them, scarcely a date is wanting. 
 
 [In translating the Catalogue, the French measures, metres and centimetres, have been reduced 
 to English feet, inches, and hundredths.] 
 
FAQADE OF THE THORVALDSEN MUSEUM, COPENHAGEN. 
 
 SACRED SUBJECTS. 
 
 I. 
 
 STATUES AND GROUPS. 
 Christ and the Twelve Apostles. 
 
 Colossal SBaiues ; marble. Church of Our Lady (Frue KirkeJ, at Copenhagen, 
 Height : The Christ, 11 ft. 5.40 in. ; St. Peter, 7 ft. 11.27 in. ; St Matthew, 7 ft. 11.66 in.; 
 St. John, 8 ft. 1.24 in. ; St. James the Less, 7 ft. 10.09 in. ; St. Philip, 7 ft. 8.91 in. ; 
 8t. Judas Thaddeus, 7 ft. 9.69 in. ; St, Paul, 7 ft. 11.27 in. ; St. Sunon Zelotes, 8 ft. 
 1.24 in. ; St. Bartholomew, 8 ft. 0.85 in. ; St. James the Greater, 7 ft. 11.66 in. ; St. 
 Thomas, 8 ft. 0.06 in.; St. Andrew, 7 ft. 10.48 in. 
 
 The Christ. (See wood-cut, p. 219.)— The Saviour is standing, 
 the arms outstr^itched, the upper part of the body slightly inclined 
 forward. His Dair, parted in the middle, falls in ringlets over his 
 shoulders. He is draped in a wide mantle, leaving the right side of 
 the breast uncovered. Modelled at Rome in 1821. 
 
 St. Peter. — The saint turns his head to the right, and holds in his 
 right hand the keys of Paradise ; with his left hand he gathers the 
 folds of his mantle around his breast. He wears a sleeved tunic 
 fastened at the throat by a clasp. Modelled at Rome in 1821. 
 
 St. Matthew. — Holds a stylus in the right hand, and with the left 
 supports a tablet which rests upon his knee. His right foot is raised 
 and placed upon a rock. On the right of the saint, an angel desig- 
 nates him as an evangelist, whilst a purse lying on the ground recalls 
 
242 WOBKS OF THOBVALBSEN. 
 
 his previous occupation as a publican. His dress consists of the 
 sleeved tunic and the mantle. Eome, 1821. 
 
 St. John. — He raises his eyes to heaven as though waiting for a 
 revelation, and prepares to write upon a tablet. His mantle is thrown 
 over his shoulders and is kept in place by a clasp at the throat ; it is 
 open in front and shows the whole of the tunic. At the feet of the 
 saint is the eagle. Kome, 1824. 
 
 St. James the Less. — The features of his face suggest his relation- 
 ship to Christ. He leans in meditation upon a long traveller's staff. 
 His dress is the mantle and sleeved tunic. Rome, 1823. 
 
 St. Philip. — He carries his head slightly inclined to the right, and 
 seems overcome with grief. His right hand is protruded from the 
 folds of his mantle and holds a cross. Rome, 1823. 
 
 St. Judas Thaddeus. — St. Jude is in a standing posture, and is 
 clothed in a sleeved tunic. His hands are clasped and raised to the 
 height of his face. A long lance terminating in an axe, the instru- 
 ment of his martyrdom, leans against his left arm. Rome, 1842. 
 
 St. Paul. — The saint is represented with a long beard and in the 
 act of preaching, his right arm raised and the left resting upon his 
 sword. He wears the sleeved tunic ; and his mantle hanging from 
 his shoulders is thence brought under his right arm and the end 
 thrown over the left forearm. Rome, 1821. 
 
 St. Simon Zelotes. — St. Simon leans with a grave and pensive 
 countenance upon a saw, the instrument of his martyrdom.. He 
 gathers together, and holds up with both hands joined, the folds 
 of his mantle, which is open in front, showing the tunic. Rome, 
 1823. 
 
 St. Bartholomeio. — The apostle wears an ample sleeved tunic. 
 His mantle is thrown over the right shoulder and the end held in his 
 left hand. He has a thick beard, and holds in his right hand the 
 knife by which he suffered martyrdom. Rome, 1823. 
 
 St. James the Greater. — The saint is in the act of walking, and 
 holds in his right hand a long traveller's staff. The folds of his 
 mantle are held up by the left arm so as not to impede his steps. 
 His inner garment is a sleeved tunic, and he has also a broad-brimmed 
 hat. Rome, 1821. 
 
 >S'^ r/io?7ia8. — The artist has endeavored to characterize the face 
 of St. Thomas by an expression of doubt. The apostle is in medi- 
 tation : he presses the forefinger of his left hand against his cheek, 
 and in his right holds the square, emblem of the exact sciences* He 
 is amply draped in his mantle, which envelopes him almost entirely^ 
 
CATALOGUE. 
 
 243 
 
 His right arm, however, is covered only by the sleeve of the tunic. 
 Kome, 1821. 
 
 St. Andrew. — The saint holds a scroll in the left hand, and with 
 the right the end of the cross. He wears the tunic, and a mantle 
 hangs from his left shoulder. Rome, 1841 and 1842. 
 
 The Apostles St. Andrew and St. Thomas, modelled for the second time by Thor- 
 valdsen in 1841-42, and executed in marble for the Frue Kirke, had been previously 
 represented by the artist, unsatisfactorily to himself, in attitudes differing from those 
 above described. St. Andrew (height, 7 ft. 11.66 in.), modelled at Kome in 1823, is 
 wrapped in his mantle, and leans with his left aiTU upon the cross : he wears no tunic, 
 the right arm and a part of the breast are nude. St. Thaddeus (height the same), 
 modelled at Rome, 1827, turns his head to the right and clasps his hands on a level 
 with his breast. 
 
 The Thorvaldsen Museum has the plaster models of the Christ and the Twelve 
 Apostles. In grouping them together in the Hall of the Christ, the directors rightly 
 selected the plasters of St. Andrew and St. Thaddeus, which date from the yeai's 
 1823 and 1827, as belonging to the same period with the others, and placed the two 
 figures modelled in 1841 and 1842 in another gallery. 
 
 The Museum also contains many interesting manikins ( maquettes J, made as studies 
 for these large figures. Of the Christ there are two small sketches, one (height, 
 25.19 in.), wliich is draped and wanting the forearm, has the head very much thrown 
 back; the other (height, 21.25 in.) is draped, and the head is not carried so far back. 
 There is, besides, a statuette in plaster (4 ft. 7.90 in,), finished by Tenerani; the head 
 is erect, the right foot thrown back and raised from the ground, and the arrangement 
 of the drapery different from that finally adopted. The execution is dehcate, but 
 lacking the master's firm touch. There are in the same hall sketches of St. Matthew 
 (height, 1 ft. 6.50 in.) ; St. James the Less (1 ft. 8.07 in.) ; St. Thomas (1 ft. 8.47 in ) ; 
 St Bartholomew (1 ft. 8.07 in.), with the hand holding the knife brought nearer to his 
 breast; St. Simon (same height), with the hands crossed on the breast, and without 
 the instrimient of his martyrdom ; St. I'aul (1 ft. 7.23 in.) ; St. John (1 ft. 7.68 in.), the 
 face turned to one side, having at his feet a cup and a serpent, and behind him the 
 eagle; St. Andrew (2 ft. 2.37 in.); St. Thaddeus (two sketches, 2 ft. 3.95 in. and 2 ft. 
 7 10 in.). These three last sketches were for the models made in 1841-42. 
 
 There is a bronze of the statue of Christ in the Church of the Peace at Potsdam, 
 (See p. 89 et seq., 220 et seq., and p. 231.) 
 
 The Angel of Baptism. (See wood-cut, p. 169.) 
 
 statue; marble. Frue Kirke, Copenhagen. Height, 4 ft. 8.29 in. 
 
 The angel, crowned with flowers, kneels upon one knee and holds 
 a large shallow shell, intended to contain the baptismal water. 
 
 Rome, 1827. The plaster model is in the Thorvaldsen Museum. (See p. 221.) 
 
 TiiE Angel op Baptism. 
 
 statue ; marble. Executed for Lord Lucan. Height, 5 ft. 10.86 in. 
 
 This figure is the same as the preceding, but the attitude is dif- 
 ferent : the angel is standing. 
 
^44 WOBKS OF THOBVALDSEN. 
 
 Rome, 1823-24. The plaster model is in the Thorvaldsen Musemn, where there is 
 also a sketch; height, 19.68 in. 
 
 The Preaching of St. John the Baptist. 
 
 Group; terra cotta. Pediment of the Frue Kirke, Copenhagen. Height of the 
 ^St. John, 7 ft. 10.48 in. ; breadth of pediment, 41 ft. 8.78 in, 
 
 St. John stands upon a rock in tlie centre and above the rest of 
 the composition. He is in the act of preaching ; his right hand is 
 raised, and the left liolds a staff surmounted by a cross. The shell 
 with which he dips water for baptism hangs by his side. He wears 
 a tunic of camel's hair, unfastened on the left side, and has a broad 
 mantle thrown over his shoulders. 
 
 The figures on his right (the spectator's left) are : — 
 
 A Young Man absorbed in Meditation. He stands with his left 
 foot upon the rock, his left elbow resting upon his left knee and his 
 head supported by his left hand. His tunic is unfastened at the right 
 shoulder, and his cloak is wrapped around his right arm. 
 
 An Old 3Ian and his Son. The father, with head uplifted, looks 
 toward the preacher and listens attentively. His arms hang natu- 
 rally, and his hands meeting in front hold together the folds of his 
 cloak. The son, who stands behind him, leans upon his shoulder. 
 
 A Mother and her Young Child. The child puts his little arms 
 upon the shoulder of his mother, who kneels upon her right knee. 
 
 A Doctor. He is seated upon a rock, his body bent and his hands 
 crossed upon his breast ; he is wrapped in a large cloak, and wears 
 the Israelitish head-dress. 
 
 A Young Man reclining. His elbow resting upon a rock, he turns 
 round in an attentive attitude. 
 
 On the opposite side of the pediment are : — 
 
 A Youth. His posture is upright ; he wears a tunic, but is taking 
 off his cloak, in preparation for baptism. His attitude is animated, 
 and indicates an impulsive temperament. 
 
 A Pharisee. His head is covered by a cap, and he wears a rich 
 cloak. His bearing is haughty, and he looks with disdainful pride 
 toward the Baptist. 
 
 A Hunter. Laden with game and followed by his dog, he stops to 
 listen as he passes by. 
 
 Tii-o Children. Their whole attention is given to the hunter's 
 dog. But the boy checks his sister and makes signs to her to keep 
 silent. 
 
 A Mother and her Child. The woman is seated and listening. 
 
CATALOGUE. 
 
 245 
 
 The child, undraped, leans against his mother's knee, — his attitude 
 resembling that of the infant Jesus in the picture by Raphael, known 
 as La Belle Jardiniere. The woman's head is a reproduction of the 
 portrait of Vittoria Cardoni. (See p. 89.) 
 
 A Shepherd. This recumbent figure terminates the pediment. He 
 plays only an incidental part in the scene, to which he is morally a 
 stranger. 
 
 This pediment was modelled at Rome in 1821-22. (See pp 89. and 222.) The plas- 
 ter models are in the Thorvaldsen Museum. Two other figures. A Jew seated and a 
 Roman Soldier, which were to form part of the composition, were suppressed. (See, 
 farther on, Divers Subjects.) 
 
 The Museum has also the first miniature model (maquette) of The Preaching of 
 St. John. Some of the figures difier from those in the finished work. 
 
 II. 
 
 BAS-EELIEFS. 
 
 § 1. — Subjects from the Old Testament. 
 Ad AIM AND Eve. 
 Plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum. Height, 3 ft. 3.37 in. ; length, 4 ft. 11.05 in. 
 Adam and Eve are seated side by side. Abel, pursued by Cain who 
 tries to snatch an apple from him, seeks protection in his father's lap. 
 Eve appears grieved at this first quarrel between her children. On 
 the left the serpent is seen to creep upon an altar. 
 
 Rome, 1838. The Museum has also a plaster sketch, 14.17 by 15 35 in. 
 
 Eliezer and Rebecca. (See wood-cut, p. 218.) 
 
 Plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum. Height, 3 ft. 1.79 in.; length, 6 ft. 1.62 in. 
 
 Abraham's servant is drinking from the pitcher which Rebecca ofiers 
 to him. A boy behind him carries a box containing the jewels in- 
 tended for Isaac's betrothed. On the right are two camels led by a 
 camel-driver ; on the left, two women, who have come to draw water 
 at the spring. 
 
 Has the inscription : Nysoe, 26 January, 1841. 
 
 The Judgment of Solomon. 
 
 Bas-relief; sketch. Thorvaldsen Museum. Height, 1 ft. 3.74 in.; length, 6 ft. 
 7.52 in. 
 
 Solomon sits on his royal judgment-seat, surrounded by his cour- 
 tiers. On the left is the mother of the dead child, and near her the 
 
246 
 
 WOliKS OF THORVALDSEN. 
 
 body of her son ; on the right, the mother of the living child in de- 
 spair appeals to the king. Solomon stretches out his arm to check 
 the soldier who is on the point of dividing the young victim. 
 
 Sketch of a bas-relief projected, but not executed, which was to have ornamented 
 the pediment of the Town Hall of Copenhagen 
 
 Heliodorus drr^en from the Temple. 
 
 Plaster. Palace of Charlottenborg. Height, 3 ft. 8.88 in. ; length, 5 ft. 8.89 in. 
 
 Heliodorus, surrounded by his guards, is struck down whilst car 
 rying off the treasures of the temple in obedience to the orders of 
 the king. A horseman in rich armor appears, whose horse strikes 
 with his forefeet the envoy of Seleucus, whilst two young men of 
 great strength and beauty, one on each side, chastise him with rods. 
 On the left is the High Priest kneeling, and surrounded by other 
 priests. On the right, behind the affrighted guards, a woman and 
 her child cry out in wonder at the power of the Most High. (2 Mac- 
 cabees, iii.) 
 
 Copenhagen, 1791. Obtained the small gold medal (the prize for sculpture) at the 
 Academy of Fine Arts. (See p. 9 et seq.) 
 
 § 2. — Subjects from the New Testament, 
 
 The Institution of the Lord's Supper. 
 
 Bas-relief; mai-ble. Frue Kirke, Copenhagen. Height, 3 ft. 2.58 in. ; length, 7 ft. 
 6.58 in. 
 
 Christ stands before the table at the left extremity of the compo- 
 sition : he raises his eyes to heaven and blesses the cup. The Apos- 
 tles kneel before their Master, except one who rises in amazement. 
 St. John and St. Peter are nearest to Christ. St. Thomas, in an 
 attitude expressing doubt, has not yet clasped his hands. Judas is 
 going away. 
 
 The plaster model, made at Copenhagen in 1820, is in the Thorvaldsen Museum. 
 (Seep. 221.) 
 
 Christ's Entry into Jerusalem. 
 
 Bas-relief; plaster. Frue Kirke, Copenhagen. Height, 4ft. 1.99 in.; length, 43 ft. 
 9.58 in. 
 
 Christ is riding upon an ass led by St. John. He raises his right 
 hand. Behind him walks St. Peter, who stretches his arm toward 
 him. Then follow the other disciples, and after them the lame and 
 the blind man cured by the Saviour. At the other end of the frieze, 
 the people, coming toward Christ, scatter flowers and spread gar- 
 
CATALOGUE. 
 
 247 
 
 ments in the way, or wave branches. Women prostrate themselves 
 in adoration. Near the gate of Jerusalem a Pharisee is conversing 
 with a doctor. Two boys pass near them sliouting " Hosanna," and 
 a man points out to his wife the new King of the Jews. 
 
 Nys(5e, 1839-40. The plaster model is in the Thorvaldsen Museum (height, 2 ft. 
 1.98 in. ; length, 24 ft. 1.76 in.). 
 
 Christ bearing the Cross. 
 
 Bas-relief; plaster. Frue Kirke, Copenhagen. (Frieze above the altar, in the 
 choir.) Height, 6 ft. 2.80 in. ; length, 65 ft. 7.40 in. 
 
 Christ stands in the centre of the frieze, bearing tlie cross which 
 Simon the Cyrenean endeavors to hold up. The Saviour turns round 
 toward the kneeling woman. He is preceded by two executioners : 
 one drags the rope fastened to the cross ; the other, with his assist- 
 ant, carries the ladder, the hammer, and the nails. A man is leading 
 the two thieves with their hands tied behind them : the younger looks 
 toward the Saviour, and seems to repent ; while the other, hardened 
 in vice, fixes his eyes on the ground. At the head of the procession 
 a mounted centurion, followed by horsemen and Roman foot-soldiers, 
 gives the order to move faster. One of the horsemen carries the 
 order to the executioner. A soldier armed with a lance keeps back 
 the crowd, and a number of Jews are beginning to ascend the hill of 
 Calvary. 
 
 At the opposite end of the frieze, behind the group of kneeling 
 women, Joseph of Arimathea is sadly watching the fainting mother 
 of the Saviour who is upheld by St. John and Mary Magdalen. 
 Three Pharisees on horseback come next, and one of them sternly 
 commands the Virgin to be thrust aside and the way to be cleared. 
 Roman foot-soldiers bring up the rear of the procession. Some of 
 the Jews are collected around the house of Pilate, who is washing 
 his hands, unwilling to be stained with the blood of the just. 
 
 Nysiie, 1839. The plaster sketch is in the Museum (height, 2 ft 1.98 in.; length, 
 25 ft. 2.36 in ). It differs in some points from the finished work above described. 
 Pilate wears an Israclitish dress, afterward changed for a Roman costume. Two 
 disciples walking in front of Joseph of Arimathea have been replaced by a woman 
 leading her child. (See p. 154 et seq.) 
 
 Christ's Charge to St. Peter. 
 
 Bas-relief; marble. Chapel of the Pitti Palace, Florence. Height, 2 ft. 1.19 in.; 
 length, 5 ft. 10.86 in. 
 
 Christ points out the sheep to St. Peter, and commands him to feed 
 Ills flock The Apostle, holding the keys, kneels before his Master. 
 
248 WORKS OF THORVALDSEN. 
 
 St. John stands behind St. Peter. The other Apostles stand on 
 either side. 
 
 Rome, 1818. The Museum has the plaster model, and also a plaster cast taken 
 from the marble. 
 
 Saint Peter healing the Paralytic. 
 
 Bas-relief ; plaster. Palace of Charlottenhorg. Height, 3 ft. 10.85 in.; length, 
 5 ft. 9.29 in. 
 
 St. Peter and St. Paul stop at the entrance of the temple. St. 
 Peter takes the paralytic man by the right hand, and invoking God 
 raises up the mendicant and cures him. The people coming into the 
 temple are filled with astonishment. (Acts iii.) 
 
 Copenhagen, 1793. Obtained the grand prize at the Copenhagen Academy. (See 
 p. 12.) 
 
 The Holy Women at the Sepulchre. 
 
 Bas-relief; plaster. Purchased hy Prince Louis of Bavaria for a church in 
 Munich. Height, 3 ft. 7.70 in. ; length, 8 ft. 6.36 in. 
 
 Mary, the mother of James, Mary Magdalen, and Salome bring 
 perfumes to the tomb of Jesus. They find the stone taken away. 
 An angel stands before the open sepulchre and points to heaven. 
 
 Rome, in 1817. This composition and the next are not to be found in the Thor- 
 valdsen Museum. There are in the galleries two vacant spaces waiting for them. 
 Shall they remain unoccupied ? King Louis I honored the artist with his friendship, 
 and professed the greatest esteem for his talent. Will his grandson one day show a 
 taste for sculpture, and allow casts to be taken from the two bas-reliefs, so that there 
 may be no gaps to be regretted in the collection of the master's works ? 
 
 The Annunciation. 
 
 Bas-relief; plaster. Purchased hy Prince Louis of Bavaria for a church in 
 Munich. Height, 3 ft. 7.70 in. ; length, 6 ft. 6.74 in. 
 
 The Virgin is seated with hands clasped. The Angel Gabriel flies 
 toward her, and presents to her a lily. 
 
 Rome, 1819. See the preceding. 
 
 Baptismal Fonts. 
 
 Bas-reliefs; marble. Church of Brahe-Trolleborg in Fionia. Height, 2 ft. 3.95 
 in. ; breadth, 1 ft. 9.65 in. 
 
 These baptismal fonts are square in shape, and four bas reliefs or- 
 nament the four sides : on the front face, St. John baptizing Christ ; 
 on the right, Christ seated blessing little children ; on the left, the 
 Virgin seated with the infant Christ in her lap, and the little St. 
 John standing beside her. Faith, Hope, and Charity are represented 
 by three angels soaring together. 
 
CATALOGUE. 
 
 249 
 
 Modelled at Rome, in 1807, to the order of the Countess von Schiramelmann, cut in 
 marble in 1808, and placed in the church in 1815. The plaster models are in the Mu- 
 seum, where there is also a repetition, with variations, of the left-hand bas-relief. 
 Thorvaldsen executed in 1827 a duplicate in marble, intending to present it to the 
 Church of Myklabye, in Iceland, of which his ancestor, Thorvald Gotskalksen, had 
 heen pastor. The composition was now surmounted by a wreath of flowers, and 
 above the angels was engraved this inscription : — 
 
 OPUS HOC ROMiE FECIT 
 
 ET ISLANDI^ 
 TERR^ SIBI GENTILICI^ 
 PIETATIS CAUSA DONAVIT 
 ALBERTUS THORVALDSEN 
 A. M.D.CCC.XXVII. 
 
 It Is supposed that this copy, before it reached Iceland, was sold by the artist to a 
 Norwegian merchant, who had the inscription efi"aced. Thorvaldsen, however, imme- 
 diately had another copy made at Carrara. 
 
 The Baptism op Christ. 
 
 Bas-relief; marble. Frue Kirke. Copenhagen. Height, 3 ft. 1.79 in.; length, 7 ft. 
 4.97 in. 
 
 Christ Standing on the bank of the Jordan with hands clasped and 
 head bowed receives the water of baptism which St. John pours upon 
 him. Two angels are placed behind St. John, two others are flying 
 in the air. On the margin of the river an Israelitish family are pre- 
 paring for baptism. 
 
 Copenhagen, 1820. Plaster model in the Museum, 
 
 Christ blessing Childeen. 
 
 Bas-relief ; sketch. Thorvaldsen Museum. Height, 1 ft. 5.71 in. ; length, 2 ft. 
 5.92 in. 
 
 Christ, standing, calls to him the children whom one of his disci- 
 ples wishes to send away. St. John and another disciple are on the 
 left. 
 
 Modelled at Nysoe, 1840, for the asylum called by the name of Frederick VI, at 
 Copenhagen. 
 
 Jesus Teaching in the Temple. 
 
 Bas-relief ; plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum. Height, 2 ft. 9.46 in. ; width, 2 ft, 
 5.13 in. 
 
 Jesus, at the age of twelve years, stands in front of two doctors, 
 one of whom, seated, has a roll of papyrus on his knees ; the other 
 standing, his hand upon his mouth, listens and reflects. 
 
 Nysoe, 1841. 
 
250 
 
 WOBKS OF THOBVALDSEN. 
 
 Christ and the Woman of Samaria. 
 
 Bas-relief; plaster. Thorvaltlsen Museum. Height, 2 ft. 6.31 in. ; width, 2 ft. 
 4.34 in. 
 
 Christ leans upon the curb of the well. The Samaritan woman, 
 coming to draw water, rests her hand upon her pitcher and pauses 
 in an attentive attitude. 
 
 Nysoe, 1841. 
 
 The Annunciation. 
 
 Bas-relief; plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum. Height, 2 ft. 2.77 in.; length, 4 ft. 
 1.99 in. 
 
 The Virgin is seated ; she lays down the work on which she was 
 engaged upon a basket beside her. Her eyes are cast down, and she 
 raises her right hand to her face. The angel Gabriel advances toward 
 her with a lily in his hand, and the Holy Spirit descends upon her 
 in the form of a dove. 
 
 Rome, 1842. 
 
 Adoration of the Shepherds. 
 
 Bas-relief; plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum. Height, 2 ft. 1.98 in.; length, 4 ft. 
 1.21 in. 
 
 The Virgin mother is kneeling before the new-born Child. On the 
 right are four shepherds in the act of adoration ; one of them plays 
 upon the flute, another upon the bag-pipe. St. Joseph is on the left 
 near the manger, where an ox and an ass are feeding. Three little 
 angels hover above the head of the infant Saviour. 
 
 Rome, 1842. 
 
 The Flight into Egypt. 
 
 Bas-relief; plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum. Height, 2 ft. 3.16 in. ; length, 4 ft. 
 1.21 in. 
 
 St. Joseph walks before with a staff in his hand, followed by the 
 Virgin carrying the infant Jesus. An angel hovers by Mary's side, 
 pointing out the way and protecting the fugitives from the fury of 
 Herod's soldiers. On the left, one of these soldiers snatches a child 
 from its mother and is about to kill it. 
 
 Rome, 1842. 
 
 Jesus in the Temple. 
 
 Bas-relief; plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum. Height, 2 ft. 2.77 in.; length, 4 ft. 
 1.21 in. 
 
 Jesus is standing in the midst of the doctors ; one of them, seated, 
 holds open a scroll upon which the Child places his finger. He is 
 
CATALOGUE. 
 
 251 
 
 interpreting the Scriptures. On the left, the Virgin, coming in with 
 St. Joseph, recognizes her Son and crosses her hands in token of 
 adoration. 
 
 Rome, 1842. 
 
 The Baptism of Christ 
 
 Bas-relief; plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum. Height, 2 ft. 2.77 in.; length, 4 ft. 
 1.99 in. 
 
 Christ is bending before St. John Baptist, who pours the water 
 upon his head ; his feet are in the stream. The Jordan is personified 
 by a recumbent old man leaning upon an urn. Three little angels 
 hover above the Saviour, and the Holy Spirit descends in the form 
 of a dove. Behind the Baptist, a man, a young girl, and a child are 
 undressing to be baptized also. 
 
 Rome, 1842. 
 
 Christ's Entry into Jerusalem. 
 
 Bas-relief; plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum. Height, 2 ft. 1.59 in.; length, 3 ft. 
 0.61 in. ' 
 
 Christ is mounted upon an ass, which is led by St. John. Coming 
 to meet him, are a man who is spreading a carpet, a woman scat- 
 tering flowers, and a child carrying a palm branch. 
 
 Sketch modelled at Rome in 1842. 
 
 Christ at Emmaus. 
 
 Bas-relief; silver re;?0MSs^ work. Altar-piece, Church delta Santa Annunziata, 
 Florence. Height, 2 ft. 1.19 in. ; length, 11 ft. 6.58 in. 
 
 Christ seated at the table takes the bread and blesses it. By this 
 action the disciples, placed on either hand, recognize him as the Sa- 
 viour. A curtain is suspended behind him, above which are seen the 
 tops of trees. 
 
 Rome, 1818. Plaster model in the Museum. 
 
 Christ at Emmaus. 
 
 Bas-relief; plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum. Height, 4 ft. 0.03 in.; length. 5 ft. 
 0.62 in. 
 
 The scene is laid in a room at the end of which is a double window. 
 Christ is on the right. The disciples have risen from the table and 
 are on the left. One is kneeling with clasped hands ; the other stands 
 with his hands crossed over his breast. 
 
252 WORKS OF THORVALBSEN. 
 
 Modelled at Nysoe in 1840, and designed as an altar-piece for a church near Stampe- 
 borg. It was afterwards cut in marble at Rome, by the sculptor Holbech. 
 
 The Resurrection. 
 
 Bas-relief; sketch. Thorvaldsen Museum. Height, 1ft. 4.14: in.; length, 6 ft. 
 2.80 in. 
 
 Christ with outstretched arms issues from the tomb, stepping upon 
 the stone which has been rolled away from the entrance. Two angels 
 stand in adoration on either side of the Saviour. One of the guards 
 flies in terror, another grasps his sword ; the rest are asleep. In the 
 distance, the holy women are seen coming. 
 
 Rome, 1835. This bas-relief, intended for the pediment of the chapel of the palace 
 of Christiansborg, was never more than sketched. 
 
 The Four Evangelists. 
 
 Four medallions ; marble. Thorvaldsen Museum. Diameter of each, 1 ft. 8.86 in. 
 The evangelists are borne aloft : St. Matthew, by an angel ; St. 
 John, by an eagle ; St. Luke, by an ox ; St. Mark, by a lion. 
 
 Rome, 1833. The plaster models are also in the Museum, 
 
 Saint Lui^e. 
 
 Medallion; plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum. Diameter, 1 ft. 8.86 in. 
 
 The saint, standing with a stylus in his hand, is writing the gospel 
 upon a tablet which rests upon his knee. The winged ox lies beside 
 him, and the evangelist places one foot upon the animal. 
 
 Sketch modelled at Rome, about 1833. 
 
 Saint Luke. 
 
 MedaUion ; plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum. Diameter, 1 ft. 8 86 in. 
 The saint, in confonnity with the tradition, is painting the portrait 
 of the Virgin. Behind him is the winged ox. 
 Sketch modelled at Rome, probably in 1833. 
 
 § 3. — Angelic and Symbolic Figures. 
 
 Three Angels iceeping Christmas. 
 
 Medallion ; plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum. Diameter, 3 ft. 4.55 in. 
 
 The angels are soaring among the stars on Christmas night. One 
 is playing upon the harp, the others sing the birth of the Saviour. 
 Little cherubs playing upon different instruments hover around the 
 angels. 
 
CATALOGUE. 
 
 253 
 
 Modelled at Nysoe in December, 1812, as a Christmas present to the family of the 
 Baron von Stampe. 
 
 Angels of the Last Judgment. 
 
 Three bas-reliefs; plaster. Thorvaldsen 3fuseum. Form, oval. No. 1 : height, 
 3 ft. 3.37 in.; width, 2 ft. 2.37 in. Nos. 2 and 3: height, 2 ft. 8.28 in.; width, 1 ft. 
 6.89 in. 
 
 The first angel stands facing the spectator ; a star glitters above his 
 head ; he holds his trumpet in his right hand. The second places his 
 left hand on his breast, and holds his trumpet in his right. The third 
 holds in his left hand the scroll upon which are written the actions 
 of men ; the sword of chastisement rests upon his right shoulder. 
 
 These three bas-reliefs, intended for a cemetery, were modelled at Rome in 1842. 
 
 The Guardian Angel. 
 
 Bas-reliefs ; marble. Frue Kirlce, Copenhagen. Height, 2 ft. 3.55 in. ; width, 1 ft. 
 7.63 in. 
 
 The angel, in token of protection, places his right hand on the 
 shoulder, and the left on the head, of a child praying. 
 
 Copenhagen, 1838. The plaster model is in the Museum. 
 
 Three Angels. 
 
 Two bas-reliefs ; bronze. Altar-pieces, Cathedral of Novara. Height, 1 ft. 2.56 
 in.; length, 2 ft. 1.19 in. 
 
 These two compositions, forming a pair, represent each three little 
 angels flying, bearing garlands and scattering flowers. 
 
 Rome, 1833. Models in the Museum. 
 
 Three Angels. 
 
 Two bas-reliefs ; marble. Thorvaldsen Museum. Height, 1 ft. 2.96 in.; length, 
 1 ft. 5. .32 in. 
 
 One of these bas-reliefs represents three little angels standing, 
 leaning upon each other, singing and holding a long strip of parch- 
 ment unrolled. In the other, the angel who is in the middle is seated 
 upon an altar, and is playing upon the cithern ; the two others are 
 standing, one with a harp, the other with a flute. 
 
 Rome, 1833. Intended for the Cathedral of Novara, but replaced by the foregoing 
 compositions. The plaster models are also in the Museum. 
 
 Figures of Angels. 
 
 Bas-relief; marble. Dome of the Chapel of Christianshorg. 
 
 These are three little angels standing and holding garlands. They 
 
254 
 
 WOBKS OF THORVALDSEN. 
 
 are repeated a great number of times, ornamenting the wliole interior 
 cornice of the dome. 
 
 Copenhagen, 1820. The model is in the Museum. 
 
 Eaith, Hope, aistd Charity. 
 
 Bas-relief; plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum. Height, 1 ft. 5.71 in.; length, 2 ft. 
 9.85 in. 
 
 Charity is represented by an angel sitting upon a raised seat and 
 spreading his wings over two figures on either side of him whom he 
 encircles with his arms. One is a woman kneeling in prayer, — 
 Faith : the other, a woman seated and holding a flower in her hand, 
 — Hope. 
 
 Rome, 1836. 
 
 Cheistian Charity. 
 
 Bas-reUef; marble. Frue Kirke, Copenhagen. Height, 2 ft. 3.55 in.; width, 1 ft. 
 6.50 in. 
 
 Charity is represented under the figure of a woman carrying a 
 child in her arms, and making another go before her. 
 
 Rome, 1810. First cut in marble the same year for the Marquis of Landsdown . A 
 second copy was made later to be sold for the benefit of a poor Norwegian, who died 
 before the charitable plan was carried out. It is this copy, doubtless, which, together 
 with the plaster model, is now to be seen in the Museum. The copy which is placed 
 over the Poor's Box in the church is consequently the third which has been taken in 
 marble. 
 
 III. 
 
 SEPULCHRAL MONUMENTS. 
 
 Mausoleum of Pius VII. 
 
 Marble. Clementine Chapel, St. Peter^s, Rome. Height of statue of Pope, 9 ft. 
 ".74 in. ; Wisdom, 9 ft. 8.14 in. ; tiirength, 9 ft. 11.68 in. ; Tsvo angels seated, 4 ft. 8.29 
 In. and 4 ft. 10.26 in.; The Pope's Arms (bas-relief): height, 2 ft. 4.34 in. ; length, 
 6 ft. 9.10 in. 
 
 This monument is square in shape. It is surmounted by statues 
 of the Pope, and of two angels placed one on each side of the Pontiff. 
 To the right and left of the door of the mausoleum are the statues of 
 Wisdom and of Strength. The Holy Pather, seated upon the pon- 
 tifical throne, raises his right hand to give tlie benediction. The 
 tiara is placed upon his head, and he wears the cope and the alb: 
 
CATALOGUE. 
 
 255 
 
 upon the border of the latter are represented the instruments of mar- 
 tyrdom of the Apostles. Divine Wisdom is represented under the 
 figure of a woman, standing, wearing the aegis of Minerva, and hold- 
 ing the open volume of the Holy Scriptures : the owl is at her feet. 
 Another woman, her head and shoulders covered by the lion's skin 
 of Hercules, typifies Divine Strength : she tramples under foot ma- 
 terial strength, symbolized by the club, and with arms crossed upon 
 her breast looks up to heaven. On the right an angel, seated, points 
 with his finger to the hour-glass which has numbered the days of the 
 Pope ; on the left another angel has just closed the book in which he 
 has recorded the actions of Pius VII. Over the door of the mauso- 
 leum two little angels support the arms of the Pontifi", surmounted 
 by the tiara and the keys of St. Peter. 
 
 Erected at the expense of Cardinal Consalvi. Modelled at Rome, 1824-1831. The 
 plaster models are in the Thorvaldsen Museum, as well as a sketch of the whole mau- 
 soleum (height, 3 ft. 6.51 in.), and a sketch of the statue of the Pope (height. 1 ft. 5.71 
 in.). In this first composition, which was not adopted, the Pontiff has laid aside the 
 tiara, and holds in his hand the palm of martyrdom. Two angels were to have held 
 a crown of stars ahove his head. (See p. 92 seq.) 
 
 Monument op Cardinal Consalvi. 
 
 Bust and has-relief ; marble. Pantheon, Rome. Height of bas-relief, 1 ft. 10.44 
 in.; length, 4 ft. 0.03 in. 
 
 In the bas-relief the cardinal presents to the Holy Father six kneel- 
 ing provinces ; the first two are An<"0)ia, with a rudder, and Bologna, 
 with a shield. 
 
 Rome, 1824. (See p. 96.) 
 
 Mausoleum of Eugene de Beauharnais. 
 
 Group; Carrara marble. Church of St. Michael, Munich. Height of statue of 
 the Prince, 9 ft. 1.44 in. 
 
 Eugene, wearing a tunic open on the right side, and a cloak thrown 
 over his shoulders, stands before the closed door of his tomb. He 
 places his left hand on his heart, and holds in his right a laurel 
 Avreath which he presents to the Muse of History. The Muse, seated, 
 is writing upon a tablet the exploits of the hero. On the other side, 
 the Genius of Death carries his extinguished torch, and sustains the 
 Genius of Immortality, whose eyes are raised to heaven. At the feet 
 of the prince lie the iron cr6wn of Italy, his armor, helmet, sword, 
 and baton of command. Between the capitals of the columns which 
 form the door of the tomb is inscribed the motto of Eugene de Beau- 
 
256 
 
 WOBKS OF THORVALDSEI^. 
 
 liamais, — Honneur et Fidelite. On the socle of the mausoleum is 
 the following inscription upheld by two angels : — 
 
 HIC PLACIDE OSSA CUBANT 
 EUGENn NAPOLEONIS 
 REGIS ITALIC VICES QUONDAJM GERENTIS 
 NAT. LUTET. PARISIOR. D. IH. SEPT. MDCCLXXXI. 
 DEF. MONACHH D. XXI. FEBR. MDCCCXXTV. 
 MONUMENTUM POSUIT VIDUA MCERENS 
 AUGUSTA AMALIA 
 MAX. JOSEPH. BAV. REGIS FELIA. 
 
 Modelled at Rome in 1827 ; erected in 1830. (See pp. 105 and 112.) The Museum 
 has the plaster model of the statue of the prince, and the sketch of the group of the 
 two genii (height, 1 ft. 4.92 in.). 
 
 Monument of Christian IV, King of Denmark. 
 
 Statue and bas-relief; bronze. In the Garden of Rosenborg, Copenhagen^ Height 
 of statue, 7 ft. 1.43 in. Height of bas-relief, 1 ft. 10.44 in. ; length, 2 ft. 7.10 in. 
 
 This monument consists of a statue of the king and a bas-relief. 
 The monarch stands, wearing the costume of his time, holding his 
 hat in his right hand, and resting his left upon his sword. He wears 
 the insignia of the Order of the Elephant. The bas-relief, composed 
 to illustrate the king's motto, Begna jirmat Pietas, exhibits three 
 genii personifying Strength, Government, and Piety. 
 
 The statue was modelled at Copenhagen in 1840 ; the bas-relief, at Nysoe in 1842. 
 The statue, which was intended to be placed, with the bas-relief, upon the sarcoph- 
 agus of Christian IV at Roeskilde, the burial-place of the Danish kings, has changed 
 its destination, and has since been set up in the little garden surrounding the castle 
 of Rosenborg, at Copenhagen. The Thorvaldsen Museum has the plaster models of 
 the statue and of the bas-relief, and a sketch of the statue (height, 2 ft. 1.59 in.). 
 There is also a small model in plaster belonging to Madame von Stampe. (See 
 p. 157.) 
 
 Mausoletoi of Prince Vladbiir Potociq. 
 
 Statue and bas-relief ; marble. Cathedral of Cracow. Height of statue, ft. 0.25 
 in. Bas-relief, height, 2 ft. 11.43 in. ; width, 2 ft. 6.70 in. 
 
 The young prince is represented as an antique hero. His open 
 tunic sliows his breast ; his cloak is thrown over his left shoulder ; 
 his right hand rests upon his hip, his left upon the pommel of his 
 sword. At his feet lie his helmet and breastplate : upon the latter is 
 sculptured the Polish eagle. In the bas-relief, the Genius of Death, 
 crowned with poppies, is seated and asleep ; his right hand resting 
 
CATALOGUE. 
 
 257 
 
 upon his extinguished torch, his left holding a garland of oak-leaves. 
 (See wood-cut, p. 168.) 
 
 The statue was modelled at Rome in 1821 (see pp. 81 and 225), and the bas-relief in 
 1829. The Thorvaldsen Museum has the j)laster models, as well as a marble copy of 
 the bas-relief, The Genius of Death. 
 
 Mausoleum of Conraddin. 
 
 Statue; marble. Church of the Madonna del Carmine, Naples. Height, 7 ft. 
 0.25 in. 
 
 The last of the Hohenstaufens is standing, his shoulders coveied 
 by the royal mantle, and his right hand resting upon the hilt of his 
 sword. He wears the Neapolitan crown ; and his helmet, the crest 
 of which is surmounted by an eagle's head, lies behind him. 
 
 Modelled at Rome in 1836, to the order of King Louis of Bavaria. The marble 
 left unfinished at the artist's death was completed by the Bavarian sculptor, Peter 
 Schopf, and the statue set up in 1847. The Thoi-valdsen Museum has the model in 
 plaster and a sketch (height, 1 ft. 9.65 in.). Another sketch belongs to Herr Thiele. 
 
 Mausoleum of the Physician Vacca Berlinghieri. 
 
 Medallion and bas-reUef; marble. Campo Santo, Pisa. Diameter of medallion, 
 1 ft. 6.89 in. Height of bas-relief, 3 ft. 4.55 in ; length, 6 ft. 6.74 in. 
 
 The medallion is a portrait of the celebrated oculist. The bas-re- 
 lief represents Tobit healing his father. The young man holds a cup 
 containing the lotion of fish-gall which he applies to his father's eyes. 
 The angel is withdrawing ; and the mother, leaning upon the table, 
 watches her son. The dog sits looking toward his young master. 
 
 Rome, 1828. (See p. 108.) The plaster models are in the Museum. 
 
 Monument of Eaphael. 
 
 Bas-relief; plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum. Height, 8 ft. 0.61 in.; length, 4 ft. 
 3.18 in. 
 
 The god of Love supports the tablet which the artist is drawing, 
 and presents to him a rose and a poppy, emblems of pleasure and 
 of eternal sleep. Haphael, in the costume of his time, one foot rest- 
 ing upon a Corinthian capital, is seated upon the altar of the Muses 
 and Graces. Fame brings him a palm-branch and a wreath of laurel, 
 while the Genius of Light brandishes his torch. 
 
 Rome, 1833. Intended for the tomb of Raphael, but the plan was not executed. 
 
 Sepulchral Monument of Augusta Bohmer. 
 
 Three bas-reliefs ; marble. Near Wurzburg, Bavaria. Height, 2 ft. 7.10 iu.; 
 width, 2 ft. 0.01 in., and height same ; width, 1 ft. 6.11 in. 
 
258 
 
 WOEKS OF THOBVALDSEN. 
 
 On the front, Augusta Bulimer, while giving drink to her mother,, 
 is stung by a serpent in the heel, — an allusion to the j^'oung girl's 
 death. On the sides, Nemesis notes this act of filial devotion ; the 
 Genius of Death, his head covered with poppies, leans upon his in- 
 verted torch. 
 
 Rome, 1811. Ordered by the philosopher Schelling, whose wife, Caroline Schel- 
 ling, a writer of some reputation, was the mother of Augusta Bohmer. The young 
 girl had been an actress at Weimar (Miiller). The Genius of Death was executed 
 separately for the tomb of Herr Donner at Altona. Plaster models in the Museum. 
 
 Sepulchral Monument of Philip Bethmann Holweg. 
 
 Three bas-reliefs ; marble. Cemetery at Frankfort. Height, 2 ft. 11.43 in, ; lengthy 
 1 ft 7.11 in., and height same ; width, 3 ft. 1.40 in. 
 
 This young man, who had risked his life at a fire in Vienna, died 
 shortly after, in Florence, in consequence of this act of devotion, 
 and in spite of his brother's care. He is represented in the principal 
 bas-relief at the moment of expiring, and giving to his brother the 
 civic crown, the reward of his courage. The Genius of Death, hold- 
 ing poppies in his hand, leans upon his shoulder. The bas-relief on 
 the left represents the mother and sisters of the young man over- 
 whelmed with grief; the one on the right has a figure of Nemesis^ 
 and beside her the River Arno and the Lion of Florence. 
 
 Rome, 1814. Plaster models in the Museum. 
 
 Sepulchral Monument of the Baroness von Sc/iubart. 
 
 Bas-relief; marble. Leglwrn, Cemetery of the Protestant English Church. 
 Height, 1 ft. 11.62 in.; length, 3 ft. 1.40 in. 
 
 The husband is seated upon the edge of the couch upon which his 
 wife is lying : he takes her hand and raises his arm in an attitude of 
 grief. The Genius of Death stands at the head of the bed. 
 
 Rome, 1814. Plaster model in the Museum. 
 
 Sepulchral Monu:ment of the Children of the 
 Princess Helena Poninska. 
 
 Bas-relief ; marble. Cathedral of Cracow, Chapel of the Jagellons. Height, 3 ft.. 
 2.58 in.; length, 5 ft. 2.20 in. 
 
 A brother and sister, led by a Genius whose torch is not yet ex- 
 tinguished, are leaving their weeping mother, who strives to detain 
 them. 
 
CATALOGUE. 
 
 259 
 
 Modelled at Rome in 1835, to the order of the princess, whose children had died 
 within a short time of each other. The plaster model and a sketch are in the Mu- 
 seum. 
 
 Sepulchral Monument of the Countess Pore. 
 
 Bas-rehef; plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum. Height, 2 ft. 11.43 in.; width, 3ft. 
 0.22 in. 
 
 The husband of the deceased, seated, raises his arm and holds 
 upon his knees the funeral urn. The daughter approaches her father 
 to console him, and lays her hand upon his shoulder. The son, a 
 mere child, embraces the urn which holds the ashes of his mother. 
 
 Rome, 1817. We do not know whether this bas-relief was ever executed. Com- 
 pare it with the second bas-relief of the monument of Philip Bethmann. ( Vide 
 supra. J 
 
 Sepulchral Monument of the Countess Berkowska. 
 
 Bas-relief ; marble. Upon the tomb at . . . ? Height, 2 ft. 6.70 in. ; width, 
 3 ft. 3.37 in. 
 
 The Genius of Death is leading the countess, and extinguishes his 
 torch against the stone which marks the limit of the life of the de- 
 ceased. Her son prays to heaven, and tries to detain her. 
 
 Rome, 1816. Ordered by the son of the countess. Plaster model in Museum. 
 
 Sepulchral Monument of the Baroness Chaxdry. 
 
 Bas-relief; marble. Upon the tomb in England. Height, 4 ft. 1. '21 in.; width, 
 3 ft. 2.58 in. 
 
 A young woman is soaring toward heaven, holding in her hands a 
 cross which she presses against her breast; the Genius of Death 
 raises his eyes, and leans upon his inverted torch. 
 
 Rome, 1818. The marble sent to England in 1828 (Thiele). Plaster model in Mu- 
 seum. (Seep. 226.) 
 
 Sepulchral Monument of Lady Newboock. 
 
 Bas-relief ; plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum. Height, 2 ft. 5.92 in. ; length, 2 ft. 
 6.70 in. 
 
 A column upon which the cross is sculptured supports a cinerary 
 urn. The mother of the deceased, in mourning weeds, kneels beside 
 the ashes of her daughter. Opposite, the Genius of Death, holding 
 
26o 
 
 WOBKS OF THOBVALBSEN. 
 
 poppies in his left hand, bends his head and leans upon his inverted 
 to'rch. 
 
 Rome, 1818. 
 
 Sepulchral Monument of Mademoiselle Jacobi. 
 
 Statue; marble. At Altona. 
 
 An angel is kneeling in prayer with his arms crossed upon his 
 breast. The torch of life beside him is not quite extinguished. 
 
 Nysoe, 1839. Sketch in the Museum (height, 1 ft. 5.71 in.). 
 
 Sepulchral Monument of an English Lady. 
 
 Bas-relief ; marble. On the tomb in England. Height, 3 ft. 1.40 in. ; length, 4 ft. 
 3.18 in. 
 
 An aged woman, with eyes uplifted and hands clasped, kneels 
 between two angels, one of whom is writing the record of her life, 
 while the other points to the empty hour-glass. 
 
 Rome, 1828. Ordered by an Englishman, Mr. Thompson. The two little angels 
 suggested the two figures which were added to the mausoleum of Pius Vn. Plaster 
 model in the Museum. 
 
 Sepulchral Monument of a Wife. 
 
 Bas-relief; plaster. Tliorvaldsen Museum. Height, 2 ft. 80 in.; width, 1 ft. 
 10.14 in. 
 
 An afflicted husband grasps the hand of his wife, who is taking 
 leave of him. 
 
 Destination unknown. 
 
 Sepulchral Monument of a Young Woman. 
 
 Bas-relief; plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum. Height, 4 ft. 1.99 in; width, 3 ft. 
 3.37 in. 
 
 A young woman, with the right arm raised and holding a cross in 
 the left hand, is ascending to heaven. The Genius of Death, with 
 closed eyes, leans upon his extinguished torch. 
 
 Destination unknown. 
 
 Sepulchral Monument of Goethe. 
 
 Medallion ; marble. Upon the tomb at Rome. Diameter, 1 ft. 6.89 in. 
 Portrait of the son of the celebrated German author. 
 Plaster model in the Museum, 
 
CATALOGUE. 
 
 Sepulchral Monument of the Painter Bassi. 
 
 Medallion; marble. Upon the tomb in Italy. Diameter, 1 ft. 6.89 in. 
 
 Portrait. 
 
 Plaster model in Museum. 
 
 Sepulchral Monument of Count Arthur Potocki. 
 
 Bas-relief; marble. Cathedral of Cracow. Height, 1 ft. 0.99 in.; length, 1 ft. 
 6.89 in. 
 
 Three children praying upon their father's tomb. 
 
 Rome, 1834. Ordered by the widow, and placed as an altar-piece in the chapel 
 over the count's tomb. Plaster model in Museum. 
 
 Sepulchral Monument of M. Mylius. 
 
 Bas-reUef ; marble. 3Iilan. Height, 3 ft. 2.97 in. ; length, 6 ft. 3.19 in. 
 
 The car of Nemesis is represented drawn by two horses, one of 
 which is rearing and is struck by the goddess. A dog runs beside 
 the horses to point out tlie way. Upon the wheel are depicted the 
 different phases through which Destiny may compel mankind to pass. 
 Behind the car march two genii; one armed with a sword to punish 
 the guilty, the other loaded with wreaths to reward the deserving. 
 Upon the background of the bas-relief are figured the signs of the 
 zodiac, the Balance being above the head of Nemesis. 
 
 Rome, 1834. Plaster model in Museum. 
 
 The Genius of Life and the Genius of Death. 
 
 Group; sketch. Thorvaldsen Museum. Height, 2 ft. 8.67 in. 
 
 The Genius of Life, winged, holds a lighted torch, and rests his 
 right arm on the shoulder of the Genius of Death, whose torch is in- 
 verted. These two figures stand before a meta, upon which are ii 
 cinerary urn and a shroud. 
 
 Destination unknown. 
 
262 WORKS OF THOBVALDSEN. 
 
 PAN AND A YOUNG SATYB. 
 
 PUBLIC AND COMMEMORATIVE MONUMENTS. 
 
 MONtTMENT TO THE MEMORY OF THE SWISS MASSACRED OX THE 
 
 10th August, 1792. (See wood-cut, p. 73.) 
 
 Colossal figure carved in the rock. iMcerne. Height, 19 ft. 8.22 in. ; length, 29 ft. 
 6.33 in. 
 
 Sufficiently described in the text. (See p. 73.) 
 
 Modelled at Rome, 1819; cut in the rock by Lucas Ahorn, of Constance. The 
 plaster model is in the Thoi-valdsen Museum. Height, 2 ft. 9.46 in. ; length, 5 ft. 
 1.02 in. 
 
 Equestrlaj^ Statue of Prince Poniatowsiq. 
 
 Bronze; colossal statue. 
 
 The prince, mounted upon a horse standing at rest, makes a ges- 
 ture of command with his right hand, whicli holds a sword. He is 
 clad in the Roman garb, and the Polish eagle is engraved on his 
 cuirass. 
 
 Rome, 1827. The statue has disappeared (See p. 79 et seq.) The Thorvaldsen 
 Museum has two plaster models of this figure (height, 8 ft. 5.57 in., and 15 ft. 3.07 
 in.), the sketch of a previous model iu a different attitude (height, 2 ft. 3.95 in.), and 
 a separate plaster of the horse (height, (i ft. 11. 4G in.), as the artist first proposed to 
 represent him, namely, at the moment wlidi the aiiiiual lies^itates to take the leap into 
 the Elster. This horse v?as cast in bronze after Thorvald^eirs death, to serve as one 
 of the four coursers attached to the car of Victory placed above the pediment of the 
 
CATALOGUE, 
 
 263 
 
 ?«£u3eum. There is a plaster model of the equestrian statue of Poniatowski, at Leip- 
 sic, in the Gerhard Garden, near the spot where the prince expired. 
 
 Monument to I^ing Frederick VI of Denmakk. 
 
 Bust ; four bas-reliefs ; marble. Near Slcanderberg, in Jutland. Height of the 
 whole, 21 ft. 3.90 in. 
 
 The monument consists of a colossal bust of the king placed upon 
 an enormous block of granite upon each of whose four sides a bas- 
 relief is let in. These bas-reliefs represent : The Emancipation of 
 the Peasantry. A Genius, wearing a tunic unfastened at the shoulder, 
 is breaking the chains and the yoke. The Institution of the Provincial 
 Estates. A Genius, a nude figure, with a mantle thrown over the left 
 shoulder, is unrolling the parchment upon which is inscribed the 
 royal decree. The Administration (f Justice. A Genius with the 
 left hand resting upon a sword holds a balance in the right : in one 
 of the scales lies the royal crown, in the other a sickle. The owl is 
 at his feet. The Genius is clothed in a tunic open on the right side. 
 The Protection of the Sciences and Arts. A Genius entirely nude 
 holds a crown in his hand and a lyre upon his arm. On the ground 
 is a cist containing rolls of parchment. 
 
 The bust was modelled at Rome, in 1819; the bas-reliefs, at Copenhagen, in 1842 
 and '43. There are in the Museum plaster models of the bust and of the bas-reliefs 
 measuring 2 ft 0.40 in. by 1 ft. 4 53 in., but the marbles of the monument are much 
 larger The Emancipation of the Peasants, the Administration of Justice, and the 
 Protection of the Arts were also treated at the same time by the artist in still other 
 models which were never executed. The dimensions are nearly the same. These 
 plasters are also in the Museum, as well as a sketch for a statue of Frederick VI 
 (height, 1 ft. 6.50 in.), modelled at Copenhagen in 1840, which was to have been exe- 
 cuted of colossal dimensions for the Skanderberg monument. The monarch is rep- 
 resented seated upon the throne of Denmark, his right hand extended and his left 
 holding a roll of paper. He wears his coronation robes. 
 
 Equestrian Statue of the Elector Maxumilian I of Bavarlv. 
 
 Bronze. Wittelshachplatz , Munich. Colossal. Height, 18 ft. 0.53 in. ; and with 
 the marble pedestal, 35 ft. 5,19 in. 
 
 The elector wears the armor of the period of the Thirty Years' 
 War. His head is uncovered. His right hand is extended in the act 
 of giving an order ; with the left he checks his horse. 
 
 Rome, 1833-36. (Seep. 128.) There are in the Museum a plaster model of the 
 statue (height, 2 ft. 7.49 in.), and two separate models of the horse (height, 13 ft. 3.44 
 in., and 6 ft. 7,52 In.;. 
 
264 WORKS OF THOBVALDSEN. 
 
 Monument to Lord Byron. 
 
 Marble. Library of Trinity College, Cambridge. Height of statue, 5 ft. 9.29 ir. 
 Bas-relief: height, 2 ft. 8.28 in. ; width, 1 ft. 11.62 in. 
 
 The poet, in modern costume, is seated upon fragments of Greek 
 columns. The head is uncovered; in his left hand is his poem of 
 " Childe Harold" ; and his right, holding a pen, is raised toward his 
 chin. On the broken column are sculptured on one side aqhnh, with 
 the owl; on the other, the griffin and the lyre of Apollo. A death's 
 head lies beside the column. The bas-relief represents the Genius 
 of Poetry tuning his lyre, with one foot resting upon the bow of a 
 boat. 
 
 Rome, 1831. (See p. 125.) The Museum has a small sketch of the statue, from 
 which it differs slightly (height, 1 ft. 8.86 in.), and two plaster models (height, 5 ft. 
 8.89 in.). Also a plaster of the bas-relief, together with a repetition in marble. 
 
 MONIBIENT TO SCHILLER. 
 Bronze. Stuttgart. Colossal. 
 
 The poet stands draped in an ample cloak, his head encircled with 
 laurel, his right hand holding a pen, the left a book. Upon the ped- 
 estal are three bas-reliefs. Apotheosis of Schiller. The eagle of Ju- 
 piter, holding a scroll in his talons, supports a globe surmounted by 
 a star, and having inscribed upon it the name of the poet. The 
 Scorpion and the Bull, the signs of the zodiac which presided over 
 the birth and the death of Schiller, also figure in the composition. 
 On either side hover the Muses of Tragedy and History. The Genius 
 of Poetry is represented flying, holding the plectrum in his right 
 hand, and the lyre upon his left arm. Above his head is a star. 
 Victorij. This figure is soaring upward holding a palm-branch and a 
 wreath. Her tunic, unfastened, leaves the right breast uncovered. 
 Upon the fourth side of the pedestal is a lyre, supported by the 
 griffins of Apollo, and the date 1839. 
 
 Rome, 1835 ; erected 1839. ( Sec p. 129. ) The Thorvaldsen Museum has a colossal 
 plaster of the statue and a small sketch (height, 2 ft. 9.46 in.), in which the poet 
 holds a scroll instead of a book. The plasters of the three bas-reliefs are also in the 
 Museum (height, 2 ft. e.80 in.; length, 4 ft. 3.18 in.; height, 2 ft. J 1.03 in.; width, 
 same ; height, 2 ft. 10.25 in. ; width, 2 ft. 9.46 in.). 
 
 Monument to Gutenberg. 
 
 Bronze. At Mayence. Height of statue, 11 ft. 8.55 in. Bas-reliefs : height. 3 ft. 
 0.22 in. ; length, 4 ft. 11.05 in. and 3 ft. 11.24 in. 
 
 The inventor of printing is represented standing, and in the cos- 
 tume of the Middle Ages ; he holds in his right hand several inovaPle 
 
CATALOGUE. 
 
 265 
 
 types, and supported by Ms left arm tlie first printed Bible. In one 
 of the bas-reliefs, Gutenberg is seated before a case and showing 
 the types to his collaborator, Faust ; the latter is leaning upon one 
 of the engraved blocks in use before the invention of movable types. 
 The other bas-relief represents Gutenberg examining a printed sheet, 
 taken from the new press, upon which a printer is at work. 
 
 Modelled at Rome, from 1833 to 1835, by Herr Bissen from Thorvaldsen's sketches ; 
 erected at Mayence in 1837. (See p. 129.) The Museum has the plaster models, the 
 sketch of the statue (height, 1 ft. 10.04 in.), and that of one of the bas-reliefs, The 
 Invention of the Printing Press (height, 1 ft. 3.74 in. ; width, 1 ft. 7.68 in.). There 
 is also a plaster cast of the statue in the Library at Mayence. 
 
 Monument to Copernicus. 
 
 Statue; bronze. Square of the University y Warsaw. Height, 9 ft. 3.41 in. 
 
 The astronomer sits watching the heavens, at the same time meas- 
 uring with a compass upon an armillary sphere which he holds in his 
 left hand. 
 
 Rome, 1823. (See p. 79.) Plaster model in the Museum. 
 
 Monument to Appiani. 
 
 Medallion and bas-relief; marble. Academy of Fine Arts, Milan. Diameter of 
 medallion, 1 ft. 6.89 in. Bas-relief: height, 4 ft. 1.60 in. ; width. 3 ft. 4.15 in. 
 
 In the medallion is sculptured the head of Appiani : the bas-relief 
 represents Love singing the fame of the painter and the Three 
 Graces sadly listening. 
 
 Rome, 1821. (See pp. 90 and 103.) The Museum has the plaster models, besides 
 a repetition of the marble bas-relief. 
 
 Monument to Lord Maitland. 
 
 Bust and bas-relief; bronze. Island of Zante. Bust, colossal. Height of bas- 
 relief, 2 ft. 7.10 in. ; width, 2 ft. 1.98 in. 
 
 This monument was erected in memory of Lord Maitlaud's admin- 
 istration as commissioner of the Ionian Islands. The bas-relief, set 
 into the pedestal, represents Minerva unveiling Vice, a woman richly 
 clothed, and throwing her protecting arm around Virtue, who is dis- 
 tinguished by the simplicity of her attire. 
 
 Rome, 1818. Plaster models in the Museum. 
 
 Monument to Hans Madsen. 
 
 Bas-relief; bronze. Church of Svanninge, Denmark. Height, 4 ft. 7.11 bi.: 
 width, 3 ft. 3.37 in. 
 
266 
 
 WOBKS OF THOTiVALDSEJSr. 
 
 This bas-relief commemorates an incident of the war of 1435. 
 Hans Madsen, taken prisoner by the forces of Lubecli, escapes to the 
 Danish army. He is represented bare-footed, liolding a hop-pole by 
 the aid of which he crossed the river, and is explaining to the Danish 
 general the plans of the enemy. The general, wearing the iron 
 armor of the fifteenth century, is accompanied by his secretary and 
 his squire. 
 
 Nysoe, 1841. Ordered by the Count von Bille-Brahe. Hans Madsen had been 
 curate of Svanninge. Plaster model in Museum, inscribed : Nysoe, 5 March, 1841. 
 
 Monument to Prince von Schwarzenberg. 
 
 Sketch. Thorvaldsen Museum. Height, 3 ft. 3.37 in. 
 
 The general stands, holding in his hand the baton of command. 
 Upon one of the sides of the pedestal Nemesis records the warrior's 
 exploits; on the other, Victory oifers him a palm-branch; while 
 upon the front is represented the prince's entry into Leipzig in 1813. 
 Under this last bas-relief is a lion couchant. 
 
 Rome, 1821. Ordered by Prince Metternich, but never executed; the lion alone 
 has been cut in marble. (See Divers Subjects.) 
 
 Monument to Goethe. 
 
 Sketch. Thorvaldsen Museum. Height, 2 ft. 3.55 in. 
 
 The poet stands reading in a book which he holds in the left hand : 
 the right, hanging by his side, holds a pen. At his feet a lyre rests 
 against a cist. 
 
 Copenhagen, 1839. Ordered by a committee from Frankfort, but never executed. 
 Thorvaldsen made at the same time another sketch (height, 1 ft. 6.50 in.), also in the 
 Museum. It represents the poet seated and with his head raised. 
 
CATALOGUE, 
 
 267 
 
 CUPID AND BACCHUS. 
 
 MYTHOLOGICAL AND HEROIC SUBJECTS. 
 
 I. 
 
 GROUPS AND STATUES. 
 Mercury Argiphontes. 
 
 Statue; marble. TTiorvaldsen Museum. Height, 5 ft. 8.11 in. 
 
 Mercury, having just put Argus to sleep by playing upon the 
 syrinx, gently removes the instrument from his lips, and with his 
 right hand draws his sword ; fearing to wake his adversary, he holds 
 the scabbard with his heel. The god is seated, but on the point of 
 rising. 
 
 Rome, 1818. (See pp. 60 and 196.) This statue has been several times cut in mar- 
 ble : among others, for Mr. Alexander Baring, afterwards Lord Ashburton, in 1822; 
 and for Count Potocki, in 1829. Another copy was cut in 1824, in which a defect in 
 the marble made it necessary to suppress the petasus (winged cap), and which after 
 the artist's death was purchased by the Spanish Government. The plaster model is 
 in the Thorvaldsen Museum, and another in the Louvre. This statue is also in the 
 Marble Palace at Potsdam. 
 
 ]Mars and Cupid. 
 
 Colossal group; marble. Thorvaldsen Museum. Height, 7 ft. 11.27 in. 
 Mars has laid aside his sword and helmet. He leans with his left 
 hand upon his inverted lance ; in the right he holds one of Cupid's 
 
268 
 
 WOBKS OF THORVALDSEN. 
 
 arrows. The son of Venus has taken up the sword of the god of 
 war, and smiles as he looks at it. 
 
 Rome, 1810. Subject taken from the forty-fifth ode of Anacreon. (See p. 197.) 
 The plaster model is in the Museum. The artist had previously, in 1808, composed a 
 statue, Mars Pacificator, ordered by the Prince of Bavaria. (See p. 45.) The god 
 was standing, holding in his right hand an olive-branch, and in his left his inverted 
 lance. His sword and helmet rested against the trunk of a palm-tree, beside which 
 were the doves of Venus. Some German journals would have us believe that this 
 work was cut in marble for Russia and for England, but Thorvaldsen assured Ilerr 
 Thiele that it was not so. Even the clay model has disappeared, 
 
 Apollo. (See cut, p. 229.) 
 
 Statue ; marble. Purchased by Herr von Eopp, at Mitau. Height, 4 ft. 9.08 in. 
 
 Apollo is Standing, crowned with laurel, holding the plectrum in 
 his right hand, the lyre upon his left arm. Beside him is the Delphic 
 tripod. 
 
 Rome, 1805. Ordered by the Countess Woronzoff, who, however, obtained only a 
 repetition. In the latter a tree-trunk took the place of the tripod. It is the model 
 of this second statue which is in the Museum. (See p. 200.) 
 
 Bacchus. (See cut, p. 85.) 
 
 Statue; marble. Purchased by the Countess Woronzoff. Height, 4 ft. 7.51 in. 
 
 The god standuig, languid with the fumes of wine, holds a thyrsus 
 in the left hand, and a goblet in the right. 
 
 Rome,1805. Ordered by the Countess "Woronzoff. (See pp. 33 and 198.) Repeated 
 in marble for the Prince Malte Putbus. in the Island of Riigen. This statue is also 
 in the Marble Palace at Potsdam. 
 
 Adomis. (See cut, p. 193.) 
 
 Statue; Carrara marble. GlypfotheJc, Munich. Height, G ft. 2.01 in. 
 
 The young shepherd is returning from the chase ; he has thrown 
 his cloak upon the trunk of a tree, against which he leans, and upon 
 which he has suspended a hare. 
 
 Rome, 1808. Ordered by the Prince of Bavaria. The plaster model in the Museum 
 is not precisely like the marble, which was much retouched by the artist. (See pp. 
 45 and 200.) 
 
 Jasox. (See cut, p. 23.) 
 
 Colossal statue ; marble. Purchased by Mr. Thomas Hope, in England. Height, 
 7 ft. 11.66 in. 
 
 The hero is coming forward, armed with a lance and carrying 
 upon his left arm the golden fleece, of which he has just gained pos- 
 
CATALOGUE. 
 
 269 
 
 session after slaying the dragon wliicli guarded it. He turns his 
 head and seems to cast a parting glance of disdain upon his van- 
 quished foe. 
 
 Rome, 1802. The Museum has a copy in marble, and the plaster model upon 
 which may be distinguished the marks made by the artist for the guidance of the 
 workman in cutting the marble, indicating changes to be made. Greater fulness was 
 given to some of the muscles of the thighs and legs. (See pp. 23, 35, and 195.) 
 
 Pollux. 
 
 Copy, — statue; plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum. Height, 4 ft. 7.11 in. 
 Eeduction of an antique colossal statue, one of the Dioscuri of 
 Monte Cavallo. 
 
 Rome, 1797. (See pp. 25 and 194.) 
 
 Vulcan. 
 
 Colossal statue; marble. Thorvaldsen Museum. Height, 7 ft 10.48 in. 
 
 The god stands holding in his right hand his hammer, which he 
 rests upon the anvil ; in his left hand are his tongs. The sword and 
 helmet of Mars and the arrows and quiver of Cupid, forged by Vul- 
 can, lie at his feet. 
 
 Rome, 1838. (See p. 197.) The plaster model is in the Museum, and also a sketch 
 (height, 1 ft. 11.62 in.). 
 
 Hercules. 
 
 Colossal statue ; bronze. Faqade of the Palace of Christianshorg , Copenhagen. 
 Height, 12 ft. 10.33 in. 
 
 Hercules stands holding in his right hand his club, the end of 
 which rests upon the ground. The lion's skin is thrown over his left 
 shoulder. 
 
 Copenhagen, 1843. (See p. 197.) Cast in bronze by Dalhoff. The Museum has 
 the plaster model, a sketch in plaster made iu 1839 (height, 2 ft. 3 16 in.), and a first 
 design (height, 1 ft. 11 62 in.), very different from the finished work. This last rep- 
 resents the god with his head covered by the lion's skin, holding in one hand the 
 apples from the garden of the Ilesperides, in the other his club, which rests upon his 
 shoulder. In this figure Hercules wears a thick beard. 
 
 ^SCULAPIUS. 
 
 Colossal statue; bronze. Faqade of the Palace of Christiansborg. Height, 12 ft. 
 9.93 in. 
 
 ^sculapius holds in his left hand the staff entwined with a serpent, 
 and in the other medicinal herbs. 
 
woin<:s OF thobvaldsen. 
 
 Two sketches, modelled in 1839, are in the Museum (height, 2 ft. 2.77 in, and 1 ft 
 11.72 in.). The execution of the colossal statue was superintended, after the artist's 
 death, by Herr Bissen. 
 
 Nemesis. 
 
 Colossal statue ; bronze. Faqade of the Palace of Christiansborg . Height, 12 ft. 
 9.54 in. 
 
 Nemesis stands holding tlie end of her mantle in her left hand, and 
 the helm in her right. Her attributes, the reins and the wheel, are 
 by her side. 
 
 Enlarged to colossal dimensions, after the artist's death, by Herr Bissen. Thor- 
 valdsen had only modelled, in 1839, two sketches (height, 2 ft. 1.98 in. and 1 ft. 11.62 
 in.), which are in the Museum. 
 
 Minerva. 
 
 Colossal statue ; bronze. Fagade of the Palace of Christiansborg. Height, 12 ft. 
 10.33 in. 
 
 The goddess stands with her right hand resting upon her spear 
 and holding in her ieft an olive-branch. The owl is at her feet. 
 
 Two sketches, modelled in 1839, are in the Museum (height, 2 ft. 3.95 in. and 2 ft. 
 0.40 in.). After Thorvaldsen's death, Herr Bissen had charge of the completion of 
 the colossal statue. 
 
 Cupid and Psyche. (See cut, p. 41.) 
 
 Group; marble. Purchased by the Countess Woronzoff. Height, 4 ft. 5.13 in. 
 
 Cupid passes his left arm around the young girl, who holds the cup 
 of immortality. He gently urges her to drink. Psyche hesitates. 
 
 Modelled at Montenero in 1804, and finished in 1805. A second copy in marble 
 was bought by Prince Malte Putbus. of RUgen. A third marble and the plaster 
 model are in the Museum. (See pp. 33 and 200.) 
 
 Love. 
 
 Statue; marble. In Courland. Height, 4 ft. 5.93 in. 
 
 Love crowned with roses leans against the trunk of a tree. He 
 holds in his right hand a butterfly, symbolizing the soul, and in his 
 left an arrow, with which he is about to torment the insect. The 
 lion's skin of Hercules lies near the tree-trunk. Love, victorious 
 over strength and the soul, has laid aside his bow and quiver. 
 
 Rome. 1811. The model of this statue, with which the artist was doubtless dissat- 
 isfied, has disappeared. 
 
CATALOGUE. 
 
 271 
 
 Love Victorious. (See cut, p. 63.) 
 
 Statue; marble. Gallenj of Prince Esterhazy , Vienna. Height, 4 ft. 9.87 in. 
 
 The god is examining the point of an arrow, holding it in his right 
 hand ; his left hand holds the bow. He leans against a tree-trunk, 
 over which is thrown the lion's skin of Hercules ; and around him 
 are other trophies of his victories over the gods, — the thunderbolt 
 of Jupiter, the helmet of Mars, and the lyre of Apollo. 
 
 Rome, 1814. A plaster cast from the marble is in the Museum. (See p. 199.) 
 
 Love Victorious. 
 
 statue ; marble (variation of the preceding figure). Thorvaldsen Museum. Height, 
 4 ft. 9.08 in. 
 
 The head of Love is bent down, and the hand holding the arrow 
 brought up against the breast. Among the attributes of vanquished 
 gods, there are, in addition, those of Neptune and Pluto and the 
 broken thyrsus of Bacchus ; while in the very helmet of Mars the 
 doves of Venus have built their nest out of bits of the plume. 
 
 Rome, 1823. Plaster model in the Museum. (See p. 199.) 
 
 Bacchus and Ariadne. 
 
 Group; plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum. Height, 1 ft. 5.71 in. 
 
 Bacchus and Ariadne are seated. The god holds a wine-cup in his 
 left hand, while his right arm encircles the daughter of Minos. 
 Ariadne bends forward to pour the wine into the cup, while her left 
 arm is thrown over the shoulder of Bacchus. 
 
 Rome, 1798. (See p. 26.) 
 
 Achilles and Pknthesilea. 
 
 Group; sketch. Cabinet of Herr Thiele, Copenhagen. Height, 1 ft. 9.65 in. 
 Achilles supports in his arms the wounded queen of the Amazons. 
 Rome, 1798. 
 
 Psyche. (See cut, p. 183.) 
 
 Stutue; marble. Thorvaldsen Museum. Height, 4 ft. 5 14 in. 
 
 A young girl with the upper part of the body uncovered, the dra- 
 pery falling around the hips, and concealini; the legs. Psyche is 
 returning from the infernal regions, bearing the box which contains 
 the perfume of beauty. She pauses with her hand on the cover, hes- 
 itating between fear and curiosity. 
 
 Rome, 1811. Plaster model in the Museum. A copy, half size, was made for the 
 brother of Mr. Hope. (See p. 203.) 
 
2/2 WOEKS OF THOBVALDSEN. 
 
 TiiK Infant Cupid. 
 
 Statue; marble. Thorvaldsen Museum. Height, 3 ft 4.15 in. 
 
 The god is standing, liis head raised, his left hand resting upon his 
 bow. 
 
 Rome, 1814. The plaster model is also in the Museum. 
 
 GaNY]MEDE. 
 
 Statue ; marble. Purchased by the Countess Woronzoff. Height, 4 ft. 5.54 in. 
 
 The youth wears the Phrygian cap, but is otherwise nude, except 
 that his chlamys hangs from his left arm, which he extends in pre- 
 senting the filled goblet. The right hand hangs down, holding the 
 vase. 
 
 Rome, 1805, to the order of the Countess Woronzoff. The plaster model and a 
 repetition in marble are in the Museimi. (See p. 199.) 
 
 Ganyimede. 
 
 Statue ; marble. Purchased by Rerr von Krause, Austrian Consul at St. Peters- 
 burg. Height, 4 ft. 4.36 in. 
 
 The attitude difi'ers from that of the preceding. Ganymede is 
 pouring the nectar into the bowl. 
 
 Rome, 1816. The Museum has a repetition in marble, and a plaster cast taken 
 from the model. (See p. 199.) 
 
 Ganymede and the Eagle. (See cut, p. 103.) 
 
 Group ; marble. Purchased by the Duke of Sutherland, in England. Height, 
 2 ft. 10.25 in. ; length, 3 ft. 6.91 in. 
 
 Ganymede, kneeling upon one knee, ofi'ers drink to Jupiter meta- 
 morphosed into an eagle ; he holds the amphora in his left hand, and 
 with the left presents the bowl. 
 
 Rome, 1817. The Museum has the plaster model and a repetition in marble. 
 There was in the artist's atelier, in 1824, another repetition, reduced, in marble 
 (height, 1 ft. 0.59 in.). Herr Thiele did not know what had become of it. We think 
 we have found it in Paris, in the possession of M. Hottinguer. ( See p. 199.) 
 
 Two Caryatides. 
 
 Marble. On each side of the throne in the Palace of Christiansborg, at Copen- 
 hagen. Height, 6 ft. 11.85 in. 
 
 These two figures recall the caryatides of the Erectheum. One, 
 holding her hand against her breast, is clothed in a Doric tunic, over 
 which is a goat's skin : she personifies the people. The other wears, 
 over an Ionic tunic, a peplum fastened at the shoulders by means of 
 
CATALOGUE. 
 
 273 
 
 straps, and holds in her right hand a tress of her own hair : she rep- 
 resents the upper class of society. 
 
 Rome, 1813. Ordered by a committee of Poles, in accordance with a vote of the 
 PoUsh Chambers, June 26, 1812; afterward purchased by the Danish Grovernment. 
 (See p. 51.) The plaster models are in the Museum. 
 
 Hope. (See cut, p. 3.) 
 
 Statue; marble. Thorvaldsen Museum. Height, 5 ft. 4.17 in; 
 
 This figure, an imitation of JEginetic art, is made to conform to 
 the semi-hieratic type adopted at that epoch to represent Hope. The 
 goddess is moving slowly forward, with perfectly placid countenance, 
 holding in her left hand the skirt of her long tunic, which reaches to 
 the ground, and in her right a flower stripped of its corolla, and 
 whose seeds are ready to fall. A broad diadem encircles her head, 
 and her hair is arranged in heavy curls. 
 
 Rome, 1817 and 1818. (See p. 2i)4.) The plaster model is in the Museum. Two 
 reproductions in marble, slightly reduced, were purchased by Count WiUiam von 
 Humboldt. One was placed in his chateau near Tegel, the other on the tomb of the 
 Baroness, in the garden of the chateau. There is a plaster cast in the Museum at 
 Berlin, and a copy in the palace of Sans Soucl. 
 
 Hebe. 
 
 Statue ; plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum. Height, 5 ft. 2.59 in. 
 
 The young girl is in the act of offering with her left hand a bowl 
 filled from the amphora which she holds in her right. Her double 
 Doric tunic is unfastened at the right shoulder, leaving the right 
 breast exposed. 
 
 Rome, 1806. (See pp. 42 and 204. ) 
 
 Hebe. (See cut, p. 207.) 
 
 Statue; marble. Purchased hy Mr. Alexander Baring, in England. Height, 
 5 ft. 0.23 in. 
 
 This figure, a variation from the preceding, better expresses the 
 mingled grace and modesty proper to the young goddess. The tunic 
 is fastened at the shoulders, and covers the whole bosom. The atti- 
 tude is the same. 
 
 Rome, 1816. (See pp. 56 and 204.) The Museum has a repetition in marble and 
 the plaster model retouched by the artist. It was also copied in bronze, gilt (height, 
 1ft. 0.59 in.), for Prince Christian Frederick, afterward King of Denmark, 
 
274 
 
 WORKS OF THORVALDSEN. 
 
 TiiK Three Graces. (See cut, p. 139.) 
 
 Group; marble. At thecountrTj-seat of Herr Donner,near Altona. Height, 5 ft. 
 8.89 in 
 
 The figure in the middle stands facing to the front, the two others 
 are seen in profile. The first places her arms around her two sisters, 
 who in their turn lean upon and embrace her. The one on the spec- 
 tator's right carries her hand with an affectionate gesture to the face 
 of the first. Cupid, seated on the ground, is playing upon the lyre. 
 Behind the group is a vase, over which are thrown the garments of 
 the three sisters. 
 
 Rome, 1817-19. The marble is unfortunately veined. (See pp. 60 and 202.) The 
 plaster model is in the Museum, together with a sketch (height, 1 ft. 11.22 in.) in which 
 the attitudes are sHghtly different. The Cupid is omitted in this sketch, and in his 
 place is a basket of flowers. 
 
 The Three Graces. 
 
 Group ; marble. Thorvaldsen Museum. Height, 5 ft. 8.50 in. 
 
 This composition is a variation of the preceding. The attitudes 
 are difierent, especially in the two figures on the right and left. One 
 holds up an arrow which the other touches with her finger. The 
 latter turns more to the front. The three heads are also difierently 
 inclined, and the positions of the legs are not the same as in the first 
 model. 
 
 Rome, 1842. The plaster model is also in the Museum. (See pp. 60 and 202.) 
 
 Cupid. 
 
 statue; marble. Thorvaldsen Museum. Height, 1 ft. 11.22 in. 
 
 A separate repetition of the Cupid in the preceding groups. 
 
 Rome, 1819. This statue has been many times cut in marble. The Museum has a 
 plaster cast taken from the original model. (See p. 61.) 
 
 Venus Victrix. 
 
 Statue ; marble. Purchased hij the Countess Woronzoff. Height, 2 ft. 7.49 in. 
 
 Venus, nude, holding in her right hand the apple, the prize Of 
 beauty. 
 
 Rome, 1805. Also cut in marble for Herr von Kopp, at Mietau, Courland, in whose 
 possession this copy still was in 1821. The plaster model has disappeared. 
 
 Venus Victrix. 
 
 Statue ; marble. Purchased by Lord Lucan, in England. Height, 4 ft. 5.77 in. 
 
CATALOGUE. 
 
 275 
 
 The goddess, unclothed, takes up her garments with her left hand, 
 and in her right holds the apple, at which she is looking. 
 
 Rome, 1813 to 1816. Marble copies were purchased by the Duchess of Devonshire 
 (at Chatsworth), and Mr. P. C. Labouchfere (at his villa near Windsor). (See pp. 56 
 and 201.) Another in marble is in the Pitti Palace, Florence. An excellent marble 
 copy and the plaster model are in the Thorvaldsen Museum. Another plaster is in 
 the Louvre. The statue may also be seen in the Museum at Berlin. 
 
 Terpsichore and Euterpe. 
 
 Statues ; stucco. Interior of the Palace of Amalienhorg. Height. 6 ft. 2.80 in. 
 Terpsichore is playing upon the tambourine ; Euterpe holds a flute 
 in each hand. 
 
 Copenhagen, 1794. 
 
 Two Muses. 
 
 Statues; stucco. Great staircase of the Palace of Amalienhorg {in niches). 
 Height, 6 ft. 0.44 in. 
 
 These two figures have so little that is characteristic that it is dif- 
 ficult to say which of the Muses they represent. The attitudes and 
 draperies are wanting in style. 
 
 Copenhagen, 1794. 
 
 Peace. 
 
 Group ; plaster. 
 
 The goddess, represented as winged, stands upon a globe, holcftng 
 a caduceus in her right hand, and embracing with her left arm the 
 Genius of Plenty and Riches. She tramples under her feet the 
 weapons of War. 
 
 1798 to 1800. This group, described by Herr Thiele, has doubtless been destroyed. 
 
 Melpomene. 
 
 Statue; sketch. In possession of Madame Frederika Brun. Height, 2 ft. 5.92 in. 
 The Mase, clothed in tunic and mantle, holds a mace in her right 
 hand. The tragic mask lies at her feet. 
 
 Rome, 1800. 
 
 Venus crowning the Victorious Mars. 
 
 Group. Disappeared. 
 Rome, 1798. 
 
 Venus and Cupid. 
 
 Sketch. Thorvaldsen Museum. Height, 1 ft. 10.04 in. 
 
 The goddess is seated, and seems to be gently reproving her son 
 
276 
 
 WOEKS OF THORVALDSEm 
 
 who stands leaning against her. The left forearm of Cupid is miss- 
 ing : it probably held an arrow. In the right hand is a bow. 
 
 A Muse Triumphant. 
 
 Group ; sketch. Thorvaldsen Museum. Height, 2 ft. 2 37 in. 
 
 The Muse, crowned with laurel, is standing in a chariot. Her left 
 hand rests upon a sceptre, her right holds a scroll. Seated on the 
 edge of the car, Cupid holds the reins and guides the horses. 
 
 Rome, about 1827. 
 
 A Muse Triumphant. 
 
 Group; sketch. Thorvaldsen Museum. Height, 2 ft. 4 34 in. 
 
 A variation of the preceding. The left hand of the Muse holds 
 the scroll, the right is raised. Cupid, guiding the horses, stands 
 upon the pole of the chariot. 
 
 Rome, about 1827. 
 
 Victory. 
 
 Statue; sketch. Thorvaldsen Museum. Height, 1 ft. 8.47 in. 
 The goddess is standing in a chariot, and firmly holding the reins 
 of her horses. 
 
 This sketch served as a model for the colossal Victory which now surmounts the 
 fa9ade of the Thorvaldsen Museum. The statue was modelled and cast in bronze 
 after the artist's death. 
 
 A Sibyl. 
 
 Statue ; sketch. Thorvaldsen Museum. Height, 1 ft. 7.29 in. 
 
 The Erythrtean Sibyl (the letters ryth are traced on the pedestal) 
 leans upon a tripod, and holds in her left hand a scroll half opened. 
 Ill her other hand is a stylus. Her drapery is ample, and her head 
 is covered. 
 
 It had been the intention to place two figures of Sibyls, this and the one following, 
 together with two Old Testament prophets, in the niches of the portico of the Frue 
 JCirke, in Copenhagen, as showing that the coming of Christ was predicted by pagans 
 as well as by Jews. (Miiller.) The project was abandoned. 
 
 A Sibyl. 
 
 Statue ; sketch. Thorvaldsen Museum. Height, 1 ft. 7.68 in. 
 
 The figure is standing: judging by the position of the upper part 
 of the arms, the forearms, which are missing, were to have been 
 raised. The head is covered, and an ample cloak envelops the 
 shoulders. On the remains of the pedestal arc found the letters ma, 
 irom which it is supposed that the artist intended to represent the 
 Sibyl of Cumae. 
 
CATALOGUE. 
 
 277 
 
 II. 
 
 BAS-EELIEFS. 
 
 § 1. — 3Ii/tJiological Subjects. 
 Vulcan forging Arrows for Cupid. (See cut, p. 84.) 
 
 Bas-relief; marble. Purchased by Mr. Baillie for Mr. P. C. Labouchere ; now in 
 the x>ossession of Mr. Henry Labouchere {Lord Taunton), QuantocJc Castle, near 
 Lridgewater, England. Height, 2 ft. 5.92 in. ; length, 4 ft. 3.57 in. 
 
 Vulcan is forging tlie arrows. Venus is sitting in front of him, 
 dipping their points into honey with which her son has miugied gall. 
 Cupid has got possession of the spear of Mars. The god of war 
 has taken up one of the arrows, and examines it with disdain. 
 
 Rome, 1814-15. Subject taken from the forty-fifth ode of Anacreon. (See p. 213.) 
 The Thorvaldsen Museum has two plasters; the model and a repetition, varied, in 
 ■which Mars holds with his left hand the drapery thrown over his right shoulder. 
 
 Dance of the Muses on Mount Helicon. 
 
 Bas-reUef ; marble. Purchased by the Baron von Schubart, for his villa at Mon- 
 tenero, near Leghorn. Height, 2 ft. 5.13 in. ; length, 5 ft. 4.17 in. 
 
 On the left is Apollo, seated upon a rock and playing upon the 
 harp. The Nine Muses dance around the Three Graces, each Muse 
 maintaining her distinctive character. In the background is a swan. 
 
 First modelled in 1804 at Montenero (see p. .34) ; cut in marble in 1807. In 1816, 
 Thorvaldsen took up the subject again, and made several modifications : the heads 
 of Apollo and Thaha are difi^erent, and the swan is swimming in the foreground. 
 The Musciun has a marble copy, and the plaster model of this variation. 
 
 The Procession to Parnassus. 
 
 Bas-rehef; plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum. Height, 2 ft. 1.98 in.; length, IG ft. 
 4.85 in. 
 
 Apollo is in a chariot drawn by Pegasus, and driven by a Genius 
 bearing a torch. The Graces advance dancing, guided by Love by 
 means of wreaths of roses. Another Cupid hovers above the three 
 sisters, strewing flowers in their path. Next come the aMuses : first 
 Clio, Euterpe, Thalia, and Melpomene ; then Terpsichore and Erato, 
 dancing to the music of a lyre played by a Cupid ; then Polymnia 
 with pensive step, Urania turning round to watch the stars, and Cal- 
 
2/8 
 
 WOEKS OF THOBVALDSEN. 
 
 liope writing. Mnemosyne brings up the rear of the Muses, accom- 
 panied by Harpocrates ; beliind them tlie Genius of Poetry, bearing 
 a wreath of laurel and a palm-branch, guides the steps of Homer. 
 The blind poet is singing, and accompanying himself upon the harp. 
 
 Rome, 1S32. It was Thorvaldsen's intention to represent the jjrocession of all the 
 poets in an extended frieze, of which this was only the first section. (MUIler.) 
 
 Night. (See cut, p. 40.) 
 
 Bas-relief; marble. Purchased hy Lord Lucan. Diameter of medallion, 2 ft. 
 7,10 in. 
 
 The goddess, her head bound round with poppies, wings her way 
 through space bearing in her arms her two children, Death and 
 Sleep. The owl accompanies her. 
 
 Rome, 1815. Often repeated in marble. The Museum has a copy in marble and 
 the plaster model . ( See p . 54 . ) 
 
 Morning. (See cut, p. 22.) 
 
 Bas-relief; marble. Purchased hy Lord Toucan. Diameter of medallion, 2 ft. 
 7.10 in. 
 
 The young Aurora flies through the air scattering flowers from 
 both hands. A Genius rests upon her shoulder, holding an uplifted 
 torch. 
 
 Copenhagen, 1815. Often repeated as a companion to the Night. The Museum 
 has a copy as well as the plaster model. There are also many half-size repetitions in 
 marble of Night and Morning. (See p. 54.) 
 
 The Ages of Love. 
 
 Bas-relief; marble. Purchased hy Mr. P. C. Labouchere, now in possession of 
 Ms son. Height, 1 ft. 8.07 in. ; length, 4 ft. 11.05 in. 
 
 Psyche, seated beside a cage containing little Loves, deals them 
 out to all who apply. A child innocently approaches to play with 
 them, a little girl is half afraid to caress them ; another, older, kneels 
 in adoration before the Love Psyche is giving her; behind her, a 
 young woman is passionately kissing the one she has received. 
 Another woman, bearing in her bosom the fruit of love, holds by 
 the wings the little god, who seems to be fast asleep. Love alights 
 triumphant on the shoulders of a man who seems unable to bear sg 
 heavy a burden ; and farther on he flies away laughing from on old 
 man, who stretches toward him his trembling hands. 
 
 Rome, 1824. The plaster model and a repetition in marble are in the Museum. 
 Herr Donner has at his villa, near Altona, a marble vase upon which the artist haa 
 sculptured this composition. (See pp. 100 and 216.) 
 
CATALOGUE. 
 
 279 
 
 The Shepherdess with a Nest of Loves. (See cut, p. 62.) 
 
 Bas-relief; marble. Tliorvaldsen Museum. Height, 2 ft. 0.01 in. ; -width, 1 ft. 
 11.22 in. 
 
 In this graceful composition the different kinds of love are repre- 
 sented. The shepherdess is seated, holding the nest in her lap : one 
 of the Loves is not yet awake ; faithful Love caresses the dog ; hope- 
 ful Love reclines his head upon the arm of the shepherdess ; two 
 others are passionately kissing each other; fickle Love is flying 
 away, and the young girl in vain stretches her arm toward him. 
 
 Rome, 1831. Suggested by a painting found at Pompeii, representing, probably, 
 Leda with Castor, Pollux, and Helen. (See p. 216.) The plaster model is also in 
 the Museum. A copy in marble was purchased by the king of Wiirtemberg. 
 
 CUPLD AND AnaCREON. 
 
 Bas-relief; marble. Purchased hy the Count von Schdnborn. Height, 1 ft. 8.07 
 in. ; length, 2 ft. 3.95 in. 
 
 Anacreon seated upon his couch is wiping the moisture from the 
 little god, who stands before him, while Cupid thrusts an arrow into 
 the poet's heart. 
 
 Rome, 1823. The subject is taken from the third ode of Anacreon. (See p. 214.) 
 A copy in marble was purchased by Mr. Thomas Hope. The Museum has the plaster 
 model, and a repetition in marble of Paros. 
 
 Cupid and Anacreon. (See cut, p. 138.) 
 
 Bas-relief; marble. Thorvaldsen Museum. Height, 1 ft. 9.2.5 in.; length, 3 ft. 
 0.22 in. 
 
 A repetition, varied, of the above. The left leg of the poet is 
 stretched out upon his couch. 
 
 Placed in a sort of arched recess as a companion to the Cupid and Bacchus. 
 
 Cupid and Bacchus. 
 
 Bas-relief; marble. Purchased hy Herr Knudzon, of Trondhjcm. Height, 1 ft. 
 8.86 in. ; length, 2 ft. 3.95 in. 
 
 Bacchus reclining upon a goat's skin offers a cup to Cupid, who 
 drinks. On the left lie Cupid's arrows ; on the right, a panther is 
 licking the vase which holds the wine. 
 
 Rome, 1810. The plaster model is in the Museum. 
 
 Cupid and Bacchus. (See cut, p. 267.) 
 
 Bas-relief; marble. Thorvaldsen Museum. Height, 1 ft. 9,65 in.; length, 2 ft. 
 11.43 m. 
 
280 
 
 WORKS OF THOBVALBSEN. 
 
 A variation of the preceding composition. The panther is reclin- 
 ing on the right, while on the left the cist of Bacchus stands beside 
 Cupid's bow. 
 
 Rome, sometime after the foregoing. The upper part is arched like the second 
 model of Cupid and Anacreon. The plaster model is also in the Museum. 
 
 Cupid, Bacchus, and Bathyllus. 
 
 Bas-relief; marble. Purchased hy Count von Schonhorn. Height, 1 ft. 8.07 in.; 
 length, 2 ft. 2.37 in. 
 
 Bacchus and Cupid have climbed upon a wine-vat, and are dancing 
 and pressing the grapes with their feet. Bathyllus is bringing fresh 
 clusters, and pouring them into the vat. 
 
 Rome, 1811. The subject is taken from the seventeenth ode of Anacreon. The 
 Museum has a repetition in marble and the plaster model. 
 
 Cupid leaving Psyche asleep. 
 
 Bas-reUef; plaster. Tliorvaldsen Museum. Height, 1 ft. 8.47 in.; length, 2 ft. 
 0.40 in. 
 
 Whilst Psyche is sleeping, Cupid silently departs. 
 Nysoe, 1841. 
 
 Psyche contemplating Cupid. 
 
 Bas-rehef; plaster. Tliorvaldsen Museum. Height, 1 ft. 8.47 in.; length, 2 ft. 
 1.19 in. 
 
 The young girl approaches the couch where Cupid is reposing : 
 she holds the lamp raised above the head of the god and pauses in 
 an attitude of surprise. 
 
 Nysoe, 1841. 
 
 Cupid reviving the Fainting Psyche. (See cut, p. 116.) 
 
 Bas-relief; marble. Purchased hy M.Dalmar. Height, 1 ft. 10.83 in.; length, 
 3 ft. 0.22 in. 
 
 Psyche, having opened the vase which she brought back from the 
 infernal regions and said to contain the perfume of beauty, has fallen 
 fainting. Cupid hastens to remove the noxious odor, at the same 
 time seizing an arrow with which to touch Psyche and thus bring 
 her back to life. 
 
 Rome, 1810. The Museum has a copy in marble, and the plaster model (height, 
 1 ft. 7.29 in.; length, 2 ft. 7.49 in.). 
 
 The Four Elements. 
 
 Four bas-reliefs ; marble. Thorvaldsen Museum. Height of each, 1 ft. 7.29 iu.: 
 length, 1 ft. 11.62 in. 
 
CATALOGUE. 
 
 1. Love, ruler of heaven. Armed with the thunderbolt of Jupiter, 
 he is borne aloft by the eagle. 
 
 2. Love, ruler of earth. Armed with the club of Hercules, he leads 
 by the mane a lion which licks his feet. 
 
 3. Love, ruler of the seas. Borne on the back of a dolphin, the 
 god holds in his hand the trident of Neptune. 
 
 4. Love, ruler of the under-world. He is driving Cerberus with his 
 bow, and has seized the bident of Pluto. 
 
 Rome. 1828. Often repeated in marble. The Museum has also the plaster models : 
 two variations of Love, ruler of heaven (height, 1 ft. 9.65 in ; length, 2 ft. 1.98 in.), 
 in which the god bestrides the eagle, and a sketch of Love, ruler of earth, in which 
 he carries the club and brandishes an arrow (height, 1 ft. 5.32 in.; length, 2 ft. 
 1.19 in.). 
 
 Cupid taming the Lion. 
 
 Bas-relief; marble. Purchased by Prince Malte Putbus, of Rugen. Height, 1 ft. 
 4.14 in. ; length, 1 ft. 6 50 in. 
 
 Cupid mounted on the lion seizes him by the mane and goads him 
 with an arrow. 
 
 Rome, 1809. The sketch in plaster is in the Museum. 
 
 Cupid taming the Lion. 
 
 Bas-relief; marble. Thorvaldsen Museum. Height, 1ft. 11.22 in.: length, 2 ft. 
 
 I. 98 in. 
 
 A variation of the preceding subject. Cupid mounted on the lion 
 is letting fly an arrow. 
 
 Rome, 1831. The plaster model is also in the Museum. 
 
 Cupid and Hymen spinning the Thread of Llfi:. 
 
 Bas-relief; marble. Thorvaldsen Museum. Height, 1 ft. 7.29 in,; length, t ft, 
 
 II. 22 in. 
 
 Cupid holds the distaflf and spins, while Hymen, kneeling, twirls 
 the spindle. 
 
 Rome, 1831. Subject taken from Theocritus. The Museum has also the plaster 
 modeL 
 
 Cupid and Hymen. 
 
 Bas-relief; marble. Thorvaldsen Museum. Height, 2 ft. 6.31 in.; width, 2 ft. 
 0.40 in. 
 
 Cupid and Hymen are represented flying : the former is shooting 
 an arrow, the latter lighting his torches. 
 
282 WOEKS OF THOBVALBSEN. 
 
 Nysoe, 184D. Composed to serve as a model for the medal struck on the occasion 
 of the marriage of Prince Frederick Charles Christian and Princess Caroline of 
 Mecklenburg-Strelitz . 
 
 Cupm AND Ganymede. 
 
 Bas-relief; marble. Thorvaldsen Museum. Height, 1 ft. 4.92 in. ; length, 2 ft. 
 1.19 in. 
 
 Cupid and Ganymede are seated facing each other, playing at dice 
 to decide which is the handsomer. Ganymede has made the best 
 throw ; but Cupid, pointing to himself, declares that in spite of that 
 he will always come off conqueror. 
 
 Borne, 18.31. From a passage in Simonides indicated by the poet Ricci. 
 
 Cupid making a Net. 
 
 Bas-relief; marble. Thorvaldsen Museum. Height,! ft. 3.74 in.; length, 2 ft. 
 0.01 in. 
 
 The soul, represented under the form of a butterfly, has just been 
 caught in the net. 
 
 Rome, 1831. Subject furnished by Ricci. The plaster model is in the Museiun. 
 
 Cupid and the Dog. 
 
 Bas-relief; marble. Thorvaldsen Museum. Height, 1 ft. 3.74 in.; length, 2 ft. 
 0.01 in. 
 
 Cupid caressing the faithful dog. 
 
 Rome, 1831. Suggested by Ricci. The plaster model is also in the Museum. 
 
 Cupid gathering Shells. 
 
 Bas-relief; plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum. Height, 1 ft. 3.35 in. ; length, 1 ft. 
 8.86 in. 
 
 Cupid hovers above the shore. 
 
 Rome, 1831. A sketch, suggested by the poet Ricci. 
 
 Cupid majong Flowers grow. 
 
 Bas-relief; plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum. Height,! ft. 2.96 in.; length, 1 ft. 
 8.8G in. 
 
 Cupid, touching the earth with his arrow, makes flowers spnug 
 from a stony soil. 
 
 Rome, 1831. A sketch ; subject given by Ricci, 
 
 Cupid writing the Laws op Jupiter. 
 
 Bas-relief; marble. Thorvaldsen Museum. Height, 1 ft. 6.50 in.; length, 2 ft. 
 3.16 in. 
 
CATALOGUE. 
 
 283 
 
 The king of gods is seated upon his throne ; while the god of love, 
 standing, writes with the point of his arrow. 
 
 Rome, 1831. Suggested by Ricci. The plaster model is in the Museum. 
 
 Cupid and the Rose. 
 
 Bas-relief; marble. Thorvaldsen Museum. Height, 1 ft. 1.77 in.; length,! ft. 
 11.22 in. 
 
 Cupid presents the rose to Jupiter and Juno, and begs them to 
 make her queen of the flowers. 
 
 Rome, 1831. Suggested by Ricci. Plaster model in Museum. 
 
 Cupid setting Fire to a Rock. 
 
 Bas-relief; plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum. Height, 2 ft. 3.95 in.; width, 1 ft. 
 8.47 in. 
 
 The god, armed with a torch, sets fire to the walls of a cavern. 
 
 Rome, 1831. Suggested by Ricci. 
 
 Cupid with Roses and Thistles. 
 
 Bas-relief; plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum. Height, 2 ft. 3.16 in.; width, 2 ft. 
 
 I. 19 in. 
 
 Love, seated, ofifers roses with the right hand, and conceals behind 
 him the thistles which he holds in his left. 
 
 Rome, 1837. The Museum has a repetition (varied) in plaster (height, 1 ft. 
 
 II. 22 in. ; width, 1 ft. 5.71 in.), in which Cupid is standing. 
 
 Cupid sailing. 
 
 Bas-relief; plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum. Height, 11.02 in. ; length, 1 ft. 6.89 in. 
 
 Love holds the sail in one hand ; in the other, his bow which serves 
 him as a rudder. The mast of the boat is entwined with a wreath 
 of roses. 
 
 Rome, 1831. The Museum has a variation in plaster (height, 1 ft. 5.71 in. ; length, 
 2 ft. 1.19 in.), in which Cupid is standing, resting upon the right knee, and the gar- 
 land of roses is omitted. 
 
 Cupid caressing a Swan. 
 
 Bas-relief; marble. Purchased hy Count von Schdnborn. Height, 1 ft. 9.25 in.; 
 length, 2 ft. 1.98 in. 
 
 Cupid holds the swan by the neck, while two young boys are gath- 
 ering fruit which they place in a basket. 
 
 Rome, 1811. It has sometimes been repeated under the title Summer to serve as 
 a companion to Cupid, Bacchus, and Bathyllus, representing Autumn. To continue 
 
284 
 
 WOEKS OF THOBVALBSEN. 
 
 the series, Cupid and Anacreon might represent Winter ; but there is no analogous 
 composition emhlematic of Spring. The Museum has a copy in marble and the plas- 
 ter model. 
 
 Cupid upon a Swan. 
 
 Bas-relief ; plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum. Medallion : diameter, 2 ft. 8.28 in. 
 
 Jupiter, metamorphosed into a swan in order to seduce Leda, 
 alights in the water bearing Cupid upon his back. 
 Nysoe, 1840. 
 
 Cupid upon a Swan. 
 
 Bas-relief; plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum. Height, 1 ft. 11.62 in.; length, 2 ft. 
 3.16 in. 
 
 Jupiter, as the swan, swims toward Leda ; Cupid, kneeling on his 
 back, lets fly an arrow. 
 
 Nysoe, 1840. 
 
 Jupiter, Cupid, and Leda. 
 
 Bas-relief; plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum. Height, 2 ft. 3.16 in.; length, 3 ft. 
 3.37 in. 
 
 Leda, kneeling, caresses the swan ; Cupid flies away, taking with 
 him Jupiter's thunderbolt. 
 
 Bears the inscription : Nysoe, 3 Feb. 1841. 
 
 Cupid stung by a Bee. 
 
 Bas-relief; marble. Purchased hy Prince Malte Putbus. Height, 1 ft. 7.29 in. ; 
 length, 1 ft. 9.65 in. 
 
 The child Cupid has been stung by a bee while plucking a rose ; he 
 complains, weeping, to his mother. 
 
 Rome, 1S09. Subject taken from the fortieth ode of Anacreon. (See p. 213.) The 
 Museum has a copy in marble and the plaster model of a variation (height, 2 ft. 
 2.77 in. ; length, 2 ft. 0.40 in.), the upper part arched. 
 
 Cupid chained by the Graces. 
 
 Bas-relief; marble. Thorvaldsen Museum. Height, 1 ft. 3.74 in. ; length. 2 ft. 
 4.74 in. 
 
 Cupid is bound to two trees by chains of roses. The Graces are 
 reclining near him. One of them has taken one of his arrows, and 
 another is feeling its point, while the third holds the end of the 
 chain. 
 
 Rome, 1831. Subject taken from the thirtieth ode of Anacreon. ( See p. 215.) The 
 plaster model is in the Museum. 
 
CATALOGUE. 
 
 285 
 
 Jupiter, Minerva, and Nemesis. 
 
 Bas-relief; terra cotta. Pediment of the Palace of Chrisiiansborg, Copenhagen. 
 Colossal. 
 
 The sovereign of the gods, sceptre in hand, is seated upon his 
 throne. The two goddesses, surrounded by their attributes, stand 
 on his right and left. At the two extremities of the pediment are 
 Tellus with a goat and Oceanus with dolphins. The signs of tlie 
 zodiac are represented on the step of the throne. 
 
 Rome, 1808. The plaster model (height, 3 ft, 9.66 in. ; length, 14 ft. 9.16 in.) is in 
 the Museum. The terra cotta was not executed until after the artist's death by M. 
 G. Borup, and was placed in the pediment in 1847. 
 
 Hercules and Hebe (Strength). 
 
 Bas-relief; marble. Faqade of the Palace of Christiansborg . Medallion: diam- 
 eter, 4 ft. 11.05 in. 
 
 The goddess of youth, standing, pours nectar into the bowl held 
 by Hercules, who is seated upon a lion's skin, his right hand resting 
 upon his club. 
 
 Rome, 1808-1810 ; placed on the fagade of the palace, together with the three fol- 
 lowing medallions, in 1825. The plaster model is in the Museum. At the country- 
 seat of Count von fc-'chonborn, near Geibach, Bavaria, are marble copies of the four 
 medallions originally ordered by the Duke of Leuchtenberg, who died before they 
 were finished. The Museum has also reduced copies in marble; diameter, 2 ft. 
 8.67 in. 
 
 Hygeia and ^sculapius {Health). 
 
 Bas-relief ; marble. Faqade of Palace of Christiansborg, Medallion : diameter, 
 4 ft. 11.05 in. 
 
 iEsculapius is seated. Hygeia is feeding a serpent which twines 
 around his staff. 
 
 Rome, 1808-1810. The plaster model and a reduced copy in marble are in the 
 Museum. 
 
 Minerva and Prometheus (Wisdom). 
 
 Bas-relief; marble. Faqade, Palace of Christiansborg. Medallion : diameter, 
 4 ft. 11.05 in. 
 
 Prometheus having formed a man out of clay, Minerva gives him 
 a soul, represented by a butterfly which she places upon his head. 
 Rome, 1808-1810. ( Vide supra.) 
 
 Nemesis and Jupiter (Justice). 
 
 Bas-relief; marble. Faqade, Palace of Christiansborg. Medallion: diameter, 
 4 ft. 11.05 in. 
 
286 
 
 WOBKS OF THORVALDSEJSr. 
 
 The goddess, standing, one foot on the wheel of Fortune, reads to 
 the sovereign of the world the actions of men. Jupiter, seated upon 
 his throne, holds his avenging thunderbolt. Beside him is the eagle. 
 
 Rome, 1808-1810. ( Vide supra.) 
 
 Hygeia and Cupid. 
 
 Bas-relief; marble. Thorvaldsen Museum. Height, 2 ft. 8.28 in.; width, 1 ft. 
 11.22 in. 
 
 Cupid offers food in a bowl to the serpent twined around the arm 
 of the goddess, who is standing. 
 
 Rome, 1837. The plaster model is in the Museum. 
 
 Hygeia and Cupid. 
 
 Bas-relief ; plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum. Height, 2 ft. 0.01 in. ; length, 2 ft. 
 1.19 in. 
 
 Variation of the above. Cupid is crowning the goddess of health, 
 who is seated and feeding the serpent. 
 
 Executed in honor of the twenty-fifth anniversary of the marriage of King Chris- 
 tian VIII and of Queen Caroline Amelia. Signed : Nysoe, 24 April, 1840. 
 
 Minerva. 
 
 Bas-relief; plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum. Medallion: diameter, 2 ft. 1.59 in. 
 
 The goddess is flying, having the owl beside her, and bearing her 
 lance and shield. 
 
 Rome, about 1836. 
 
 Apollo. 
 
 Bas-relief; plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum. Medallion : diameter, 2 ft. 1.98 in. 
 The god is flying, bearing the lyre and plectrum. 
 
 Rome, about 1836. 
 
 Pegasus. 
 
 Bas-relief; plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum. Diameter of medallion, 2 ft. 2.77 in. 
 
 A genius bearing a torch and garlands is leading the winged steed. 
 
 Rome, about 1836. 
 
 The Muses. 
 
 Nine bas-reliefs ; plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum. Diameter of medaUions, 2 ft. 
 1.59 in. 
 
 The nine sisters hover in the air, each bearing her attributes. 
 
 Rome, about 1836. 
 
CATALOGUE. 
 
 287 
 
 Mnemosyne and Harpocrates. 
 
 Bas-relief; plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum. Diameter of medallion, 2 ft. 1.59 in. 
 The mother of the Muses, in a pensive attitude, raises her hand to 
 her face. Harpocrates places his finger upon his lips. 
 
 Rome, about 1836. 
 
 The Graces. 
 
 Bas-relief; plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum. Diameter of medallion, 2 ft. 1.59 in. 
 The three sisters, hovering in air, tenderly embrace each other. 
 
 Rome, about 1836. 
 
 The Graces. 
 
 Bas-relief; plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum, Height, 2 ft. 1.19 in.; width, 1 ft, 
 10.44 in. 
 
 The three sisters are dancing, with arms intertwined. 
 
 Thalia and Melpomene. 
 
 Bas-relief; plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum. Diameter of medallion, 2 ft. 6.31 in. 
 Melpomene holds the tragic mask and the mace ; Thalia, the comic 
 mask and shepherd's crook. 
 Nysoe, 1843. 
 
 Erato and Cupid. 
 
 Bas-relief; marble. Thorvaldsen Museum, Diameter of medallion, 1 ft. 11.22 in. 
 Cupid leans on the shoulder of the Muse, who is seated and turns 
 toward him, singing and playing upon the lyre. 
 
 Rome, 1830. Originally intended for the pedestal of the statue of Byron. Often 
 repeated in marble. 
 
 Mercury bearing the Infant Bacchus to Ino. 
 
 Bas-relief ; marble. Purchased by Prince Malte Putbus, of Ritgen. Height, 1 ft. 
 7.68 in. ; length, same. 
 
 Bacchus Stretches out his arms to his mother's sister, who is to be 
 his nurse. 
 
 Rome, 1809. Plaster model in the Museum. Was repeated, of larger size (height, 
 2 ft. 4.74 in. ; length, 2 ft. 5.13 in.), in marble, for Lord Lucan. The plaster model 
 of this repetition is also in the Museum. 
 
 Jupiter and Diana. 
 
 Bas-relief; plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum. Height, 2 ft. 4.74 in.; length, 2 fl. 
 8.2s in. 
 
288 
 
 WOEKS OF THOBVALDSEN. 
 
 The artist has represented the goddess at the moment when she 
 entreats Jupiter to allow her to remain a virgin. 
 
 Modelled for the birthday of the Baroness von Stampe. Signed : Nysoe, 20 April, 
 1840. 
 
 The Birth of Aphrodite. 
 
 Bas-relief; marble. Purchased by Prince Malte Putbus, of Riigen. Height, 1 ft. 
 4.92 in. ; width, 1 ft. 3.35 in. 
 
 The daughter of the salt sea is borne to the shore in an open shell, 
 supported by two dolphins. 
 
 Rome, 1809. Plaster model in Museum. 
 
 Apollo among the Shepherds. 
 
 Bas-relief; sketch. Thorvaldsen Museum. Height, 1 ft. 0.59 in.; length, 5 ft. 
 10.86 in. 
 
 Apollo is playing upon the harp, surrounded by Thessalian shep- 
 herds. Pan appears on the left, half hidden by a rock. On each 
 side are sheep feeding. 
 
 Rome, 1837. Executed in marble by Galli for the villa of Signer Torlonia at 
 Castel-Gondolfo. 
 
 A Young Bacchante with a Bird. 
 
 Bas-relief; sketch. Thorvaldsen Museum. Height, 1 ft. 7.29 in.; length, 1 ft. 
 6.11 in. 
 
 The young girl, nude, is seated upon a couch covered with the skin 
 of a panther. The amphora, the thyrsus, and the tambourine are 
 beside her. She raises her hand to play with a bird perched upon 
 her finger. 
 
 Rome, 1838. 
 
 Hebe and Ganymede. 
 
 Bas-relief; plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum. Height, 1 ft, 6.89 in. ; width, same. 
 
 The young girl delivers to the new cup-bearer to the gods the vase 
 and the cup. The eagle is placed between Hebe and Ganymede. 
 
 Rome, 1833. 
 
 The Rape of Ganymede. 
 Bas-relief; sketch. Thorvaldsen Museum. Height, 9.05 in. ; width, 7.08 in. 
 The young man passes his right arm around the neck of the eagle, 
 and with his left seizes the bird's wing. 
 Rome, 1833. 
 
 The Rape of Ganymede. 
 Bas-reUef; sketch. Thorvaldsen Museum. Height, 1 ft. 1.77 in.; length, 1 ft. 
 6.89 in. 
 
CATALOGUE. 
 
 289 
 
 In this variation the eagle soars perpendicularly. Ganymede's 
 position is nearly the same. 
 Rome, 1833 probably. 
 
 Victory. 
 
 Bas-relief; marble. Thorvaldsen Museum. Height, 2 ft. 8.28 in. ; "width, 2 ft. 
 1.19 in. 
 
 This goddess, seated upon a suit of armor, with one foot resting 
 on a helmet, is inscribing upon a shield the exploits of a warrior. 
 
 Rome, about 1830. Originally intended to ornament the pedestal of the statue of 
 Prince Potocki, but replaced, at the request of the family, by the bas-relief of The 
 Angel of Death. This victory seems to have been cut in marble for the pedestal of 
 the bust of Napoleon I purchased by Mr. Murray. The plaster model is in the 
 Museum. 
 
 Victory. 
 
 Bas-relief; plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum. Height, 3 ft. 2.97 in.; width, 2 ft, 
 3.95 in. 
 
 This figure is seated ; beside her are a helmet and sword. 
 
 Rome, about 1830. 
 
 Victory. 
 
 Bas-relief; plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum. Height, 2 ft. 11.43 in. ; width, 2 ft. 
 1.19 in. 
 
 The goddess is standing; the right hand, which holds a palin- 
 branch, rests upon the shield ; the left hand holds a lance ; a wreath 
 hangs from her arm. 
 
 Rome, about 1830. 
 
 Victory. 
 
 Bas-relief; plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum. Height, 3 ft. 1.79 in.; width, - ft. 
 1.98 in. 
 
 A variation of the above. The figure, which faces to the front, 
 stands in a niche. 
 
 Rome, about 1830. 
 
 The Fates. 
 
 Bas-relief; marble. Thorvaldsen Museum. Height, 4 ft. 5 14 in. ; length, 6 ft. 
 1.52 in. 
 
 Clotho, on the left, holds the distaft'; on the right Lachesis winds 
 the thread upon the spindle. Atropos, in the middle, is armed with 
 the shears and holds the hour-glass ; beside her the Genius of Life 
 holds a lighted torch. The owl hovers above the shears. 
 
 Rome, 1S33. The plaster model, of smaller dimensions, is also in the Museum, 
 
290 
 
 WOBKS OF THORVALDSEN. 
 
 Mercuky bearing away Psyche. 
 
 Bas-reli3f; plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum. Diameter of medallion, 1 ft. 11.62 in. 
 The messenger of the gods bears away the young girl toward 
 Olympus. 
 
 The Myth of Cupid and Psyche. 
 
 Series of sixteen bas-reliefs ; marble. Villa Torlonia. Oval medallions : height, 
 11.02 in.; width, 9.05 in. 
 
 1. Venus, jealous of the beauty of Psyche, begs her son to inspire 
 her with an ardent passion for the vilest of mankind. 
 
 2. Cupid approaches to wound the sleeping Psyche with his 
 arrows, but pauses, struck with the young girl's beaut3^ 
 
 3. The father of Psyche consults the oracle. 
 
 4. Zephyr goes to look for Psyche upon the mountain, where she 
 had been exposed, and brings her back in his arms. 
 
 5. Cupid extinguishes the lamp, and softly approaches the couch 
 where Psyche is l eposing. 
 
 6. Cupid leaves the couch and steals softly away, while Psyche is 
 .still sleeping, 
 
 7. The sisters of Psyche persuade her that her unknown lover 
 can be none other than the monster predicted by the oracle, and that 
 t.he ought to kill him. 
 
 8. Cupid, awakened by a drop of oil falling from the lamp, starts- 
 up indignant ; Psyche clings, supplicating, to the knees Of the god. 
 
 9. Pan gives Psyche advice, 
 
 10. Venus orders Psyche to bring her water from the Styx. . 
 
 11. The eagle brings the water of the Styx to Psyche. 
 
 12. Psyche presents herself to enter the bark of Charon. 
 
 13. Psyche offers a cake of honey to Cerberus. 
 
 14. Psyche, having opened the vase given her by Proserpine, falls, 
 fainting. Cupid comes to her aid. 
 
 15. Mercury bears Psyche to Olympus. 
 
 16. Cupid embraces Psyche, who holds the cup of immortality. 
 All these bas-reliefs, the subjects of which are taken from the Metimiorphoscs of 
 
 Apuleius, IV to VI, were modelled at Uome by V. Galli, from Thorvaldsen's designs. 
 The plaster models are in the Museum. 
 
 Cupid and Psyche. 
 
 Bas-relief; plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum. Height, 2ft. 5.13 in.; width, 2 ft. 
 1.5 1 in. 
 
 Psyche, as a young girl, is caught in her flight by the boy Cupid, 
 
CATALOGUE. 
 
 291 
 
 who throws his arm around her neck. Psyche turns around and her 
 lips meet those of Cupid. 
 
 Nysoe, 1840. 
 
 Cupid and Psyche. 
 
 Bas-relief; marble. At the Chateau of Nijsde. Height, 8.26 in. ; length, 9.44 in. 
 
 The children, Cupid and Psyche, embrace each other as they fly. 
 
 Thorvaldsen modelled this bas-relief as a parting gift to his friends on leaving them 
 to return to Rome. It has been called the '• Farewell to Nysoe." The plaster model 
 in the Museum bears the inscription : Nysiie, 24 May, 1841. The marble was cut in 
 Rome. 
 
 Cupid playing on the Lyre. 
 
 Bas-relief; plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum. Medallion: diameter, 3 ft. 1.79 in. 
 Cupid is flying : he sings, and accompanies himself on the lyre. 
 Beneath him a swan is swimming. 
 
 Nysoe, 1843 Thorvaldsen named this composition " The Swan-song of Cupid." 
 It was, in fact, his last work relating to the story of Cupid. 
 
 Hymen. 
 
 Bas-relief; plaster. Thorvaldsen .}ruseum. Medallion : diameter, 2 ft. 9 46 in. 
 
 Hymen is flying, bearing a lighted torch in each hand. Below him 
 are two doves. 
 
 Nysoe, 1843. 
 
 Figures from Antique Fable. 
 
 Twenty-two oval medallions. Villa Torlonia at Castel-Gondolfo. Height, 1 ft. 
 1 G8 in ; width, 9.84 in. 
 
 1. Latona, flying from the serpent Python, and bearing in her 
 arms Apollo and Diana. 
 
 2. Diana with her hind. 
 
 3. Diana, bathing, surprised by Actseon. 
 
 4. ActsDon, changed into a stag, is devoured by his dogs. 
 
 5. Diana letting fly an arrow. 
 
 C. Orion falls, struclc by Diana's arrow. 
 
 7. Daidalion, changed into a falcon, flies toward his daughter 
 Chionc, slain by Diana with an arrow. 
 
 8. Cupid conducts Diana to Endymion. 
 
 9. Endymion asleep on Mount Latmos. 
 
 10. One of Diana's nymphs polishing the bow of the goddess. 
 
 11. Another nymph examines the points of Diana's arrows. 
 
 12. A nymph is cleaning the quiver of Diana, while another young 
 girl by her side holds the arrows. 
 
292 
 
 WOEKS OF THOBVALDSEN. 
 
 13. A huntress Dymph, bearing a torch and a spear, and accompa- 
 nied by a dog. 
 
 14. Another huntress, bearing a hare and birds which she has 
 killed. 
 
 15. Callisto, the nymph beloved by Jupiter, leans her head sadly 
 upon her hand. 
 
 16. Atalanta, running, and holding in her left hand the golden 
 apple thrown by Hippomenes. 
 
 17. Meleager slaying the Calydonian boar. 
 
 18. A young hunter places his foot on the lion he has just killed. 
 
 19. Adonis holding his hunting-spear ; beside him is the anemone, 
 the plant which sprang from his blood ; and upon a neigliboring hil- 
 lock are the doves of Venus. 
 
 20. Narcissus, looking at himself in the water of a spring, while 
 Cupid watches him with a mocking air. 
 
 21. Daphne changed into a laurel-tree. Apollo accompanied by 
 Cupid wreathes around his lyre a garland of leaves gathered from 
 the tree. The river Peneus, father of Daphne, reclines beside the 
 laurel. 
 
 22. Pan is playing upon his flute made of reeds into which the 
 nymph Syrinx has been changed. Cupid makes sounds issue from 
 the reeds themselves. The river Ladon, father of Syrinx, reclines 
 on the right. 
 
 All these bas-reliefs, modelled iu Rome in 1838, were executed after designs by 
 Thorvaldsen, by V. Galli. 
 
 Pan and a Young Satyi{. (See cut, p. 262.) 
 
 Bas-relief; marble. Thorvaldsen Museum Height, 1 ft. 6.89 in.; length, 2 ft. 
 7.10 in. 
 
 The god is reclining with one arm resting upon a wine-skin. Upon 
 his knees is seated the little satyr, whom he is teaching to play upon 
 the syrinx. 
 
 Rome, 1831. The Museum has also the plaster model. 
 
 A Bacchante and a Young Satyr. 
 
 Bas-relief; marble. Thorvaldsen Museum. Height, 1 ft. 6.89 in.; length, 2 ft. 
 7.10 in. 
 
 The bacchante lies stretched upon a panther's skin, her left arm 
 resting upon a basket. The little satyr is climbing upon the legs of 
 the young woman, and biting eagerly at the bunch of grapes which 
 she holds raised in her right hand. 
 
CATALOGUE. 
 
 293 
 
 Rome, 1833. Intended as a companion to the above. The plaster model is also in 
 the Museum. 
 
 A Satyk and a Huxtki-:ss Nymph. 
 
 Bas-relief; plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum. Height, 2 ft, 2.77 in.; width, 1 ft. 
 11.22 in. 
 
 The satyr is endeavoring to embrace the nymph, who resists his 
 attempts. 
 
 Nyecie, 1841. 
 
 A Satyr and a Bacchante dancing. 
 
 Bas-relief; plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum. Height, 2 ft. 3.55 in.; width, 2 ft. 
 1.19 in. 
 
 Tlie satyr crowned witli fir-cones, the baccliante with ivy, are 
 dancing witli arms intertwined : one is playing upon cymbals, the 
 other holds a thyrsus. 
 
 Nysoe. 1841. 
 
 A Satyr and a Bacchante dancing. 
 
 Bas-relief; plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum. Height, 2 ft. 5.13 in.; width, 2 It. 
 1.98 in. 
 
 A companion to the above. In this new composition the satyr and 
 the bacchante embrace each other with their left arms, and join their 
 right hands above their heads. 
 
 Nysoe, 1841. 
 
 Hylas carried away by the Nymphs. 
 
 Bas-relief: marble. Thorvaldsen Museum. Height, 1ft. 3.74 in.; length, 2 ft. 
 6.31 in. 
 
 Hylas kneels beside the river Ascauius to draw water, and is 
 dragged into the waves by a nymph who has thrown her arm around 
 his neck, while two other nymphs approach to lay hold of him. 
 
 Rome, 1831. The plaster model is also in the Museum. 
 
 Hylas carried away by the Nymphs. 
 
 Bas-relief; marble. Thorvaldsen Museum. Height, 2 ft. 3. 16 in.; length, 3 ft. 
 7.30 in. 
 
 In this composition, a variation of the above, Hylas is standing. 
 Two nymphs push him from behind; while another, seizing him by 
 the leg, drags him into the waves. 
 
 Rome, 1833. The plaster model is also in the Museum. 
 
294 
 
 WORKS OF THOBVALDSEN. 
 
 Nessus and Dejanira. 
 
 Bas-relief; marble. Purchased by Count Marulli, of Naples. Height, 3 ft. 4.55 
 in. ; length, 4 ft. 1.99 in. 
 
 The centaur, after having borue her across the river Evenus, at- 
 tempts to carry off Dejaiiira : she resists, and calls upon Hercules 
 for aid. 
 
 Rome, 1814. The Museum has the plaster model, and a repetition in marble. 
 
 Perskus and Andromeda. 
 
 Bas-relief; plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum. Medallion : diameter, 2 ft. 2.37 in. 
 
 Perseus flies through space upon the wings given him by Mercury, 
 leading Pegasus, upon whose back is seated Andromeda, leanin r her 
 arm on the shoulder of her liberator. The hero holds in his hand 
 the head of Medusa, while Cupid be.ars his sword. The vanquished 
 monster lies at the foot of the rock, beside the broken fetters. 
 
 Nysoe, 1843. An overcharged composition, different from the usual style of thu 
 artist. 
 
 Love in Repose. 
 
 Bas-relief; plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum {mx^QVgYoun^ gallery). Form, oval. 
 Height. 2 ft. 5.13 in. ; width, 1 ft. 10.04 in. 
 
 Love rests his right hand upon his bow, and holds an arrow in his 
 left. 
 
 Copenhagen, 1789. Large silver medal at the Academy of Fine Arts. (See p. 8.) 
 
 Hercules and Oimphale. 
 
 Bas-relief; plaster. At Copenhagen. Form, oval. Height, 1 ft. 7.68 in. ; length, 
 2 ft. 1.19 in. 
 
 Stretched upon the lion's skin, Hercules with his right hand holds 
 the distaff, and clasps the waist of Omphale. The Lydian queen 
 rests her left hand upon the club, and passing her right arm over the 
 hero's shoulder breaks off the thread from the distaff. 
 
 Copenhagen. Signed : B. Thorvaldsen fec. 1792. (See p. 12.) 
 
 The Seasons and the Hours. 
 Decorative work. 
 
 Executed in 1794, from the designs of the painter Abildgaard, and placed in the 
 dining-room of the palace of Amalieuborg. 
 
CATALOGUE. 
 
 295 
 
 § 2. — Heroic Subjects. 
 
 Achilles and Thetis. 
 
 Das-relief; marble. Purchased bj/ Signor Torlonia for the Palazzo Bracciano. 
 Height, 3 ft. 2.58 in. ; length, 4 ft. 6.33 in. 
 
 Thetis, kneeling beside tlie Styx, holds the young Achilles by the 
 foot and plunges him in the river to render him invulnerable ; Mi- 
 nerva stretches her protecting lance above the child ; while the river 
 god, crowned with reeds, leans against an urn. 
 
 Rome, 1837. Plaster model in Museum. In a subseqiient repetition the nymph 
 Styx, daughter of Ocean, is substituted in place of the river. 
 
 Achilles and the Centaur Chiron. 
 
 Bas-relief; plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum. Height, 3 ft. 4.55 in. ; length, 4 ft. 
 1.99 in. 
 
 The infant Achilles is seated upon the back of the centaur, who is 
 teaching him to throw the javelin. 
 
 Rome, 1837. 
 
 Achilles and Briseis. 
 
 Bas-relief; marble. Purchased by Herr von Ropp, at Alitau, Courland, Height, 
 3 ft. 9.27 in. ; length, 7 ft. 9.70 in. 
 
 The heralds of Agamemnon lead away Briseis, whom Patroclus 
 has just delivered to them. The young captive departs sadly ; while 
 Achilles turns away his head in violent anger, clenching his hand and 
 uttering imprecations. 
 
 Rome, 1803 to 180 ). The plaster model is in the Museum, which has also a copy 
 in marble. A repetitioa, ordered in 1835, was executed in 1820, somewhat smaller 
 than the original, for the Duke of Bedford, who has placed it in his summer residence 
 at Woburn Abbey, as a companion to the Achilles and Priam. 
 
 Achilles and Briseis. 
 
 Bas-relief; marble. Purchased bj Sijnor Torlonia for the Palazzo Bracciano. 
 Height, 2 ft. 3.95 in. ; length, 4 ft. 5.54 in. 
 
 Variation of the above. The action of Achilles is less violent : the 
 hero's hand rests upon his knee. 
 Rome, 1837. Plaster model in Museum. 
 
 Achilles and Patroclus. 
 
 Bas-relief; marble. Thorvaldsen Museum. Medallion : diameter, 3 ft. 3.16 in. 
 Achilles is dressing the wound of Patroclus, hit by an arrow. 
 
296 
 
 WOEKS OF THOBVALDSEN. 
 
 Rome. 1837. Plaster model in Museum. Luitalccl from a similar scene on an 
 antique vase, reproduced in the Monumenti dell' Inst. Arch, di lioma. 
 
 Hector confronting Paris and Helen. 
 
 Bas-relief; marble. Purchased by Herr J. Knudzon merchant of Trondhjem, 
 Norway. Height, 2 ft. 3.95 in. ; length, 3 ft. 0.61 in. 
 
 Hector stands holding his long lance, and reproaches Paris with 
 shunning the combat and remaining in shameful inaction. The faith- 
 less spouse of Menelaus, occupied in some woman's work, raises her 
 eyes toward Hector; while Paris, seated in a careless attitude, is 
 furbishing his arms. 
 
 Rome, 1809, Executed to the order of a Russian general named Balk. Plaster 
 model in Museum. A repetition belongs to Mr. P. A. Labouchere, Paris. (See 
 p. 210.) 
 
 Hector confronting Paris and Helen. 
 
 Bas-relief; marble. Purchased hy Signer Torlonia for the Palazzo Bracciano. 
 Height, 2 ft. 9.46 in. ; width, 2 ft. 2.77 in. 
 
 A variation of the above. Paris has risen, Helen reproaches him 
 with his inaction, and two women offer him a distaff. 
 
 Rome, 1837. Plaster model in Museum. (See p. 211.) 
 
 The Paritng of Hector and Andromache. 
 Bas-relief; marble. Purchased by Signor Torlonia for the Palazzo Bracciano. 
 Height, 3 ft. 0.61 in. ; length, 6 ft, 0.83 in. 
 
 Hector has taken his son from the hands of the nurse ; he has laid 
 aside his helmet, whose crest terrified the child, and raises Astyanax 
 in his arms. Whilst the hero invokes the gods, Andromache leans 
 sadly on her husband's shoulder. Paris comes to rejoin Hector. 
 
 Rome, 1837. Plaster model in Museum. (See p. 212.) 
 
 Priam beseeching Achilles for tiiic Body of Hector. 
 
 Bas-relief; plaster. Palace of Charlottenborg . Height, 2 ft. 1.98 in. ; length, 2 ft. 
 6.31 in. 
 
 Priam throws himself at the feet of Achilles ; the Greek hero rises 
 from his seat and hastens to raise the aged man. Behind the table, 
 on the right, two companions of Achilles receive the gifts of Priam. 
 
 Copenhagen, 17J1. (Seep. 11 ) 
 
 Priam begging Achilles for the Body of Hector. 
 (See cut, p. 192.) 
 
 Bas-relief; marble. Purchased by the Duke of Bedford, and placed in Woburn 
 Abbey, England. Height, 3 ft, 1.40 in. ; length, 6 ft. 5.1 G in. 
 
CATALOGUE. 
 
 297 
 
 Achilles seated, and leaning upon a table, turns his fucc toward 
 the old man, who kneels in supplication. Automedon and Alcinous 
 stand behind Achilles. Priam is followed by two Trojans bearing 
 gifts. 
 
 Rome, 1815. Plaster model in Museum. (See p. 11.) 
 
 Achilles and Pi<:nthesilea. 
 
 Bas-relief; marble. Thorvaldsen Museum. Medallion : diameter, 2 ft. 3.16 in. 
 
 The Greek hero has just wounded the queen of the Amazons. 
 Surprised at her beauty, he raises her from the ground and places 
 his hand upon her heart to ascertain if it still beats. 
 
 Rome, 1837. Plaster model also in Museum. 
 
 The Arms of Achilles. (See cut, p. 228.) 
 
 Bas-relief; marble. Tliorvaldsen Museum. Height, 2 ft. 1.98 in. ; length, 4 ft. 
 0.81 in. 
 
 Minerva gives to Ulysses the arms of the son of Peleus. Ajax, 
 who hoped to have them, turns away full of anger and uttering im- 
 precations. In the background the nereid Thetis, mother of Achilles, 
 sits weeping beside the tomb of her son. 
 
 Rome, 1831. Subject taken from the Metamorphoses of Ovid. Plaster model also 
 in Museum. 
 
 Homer. 
 
 Bas-relief; plaster. Tliorvaldsen Museum. Height, 3 ft. 2.58 in.; length, 6 ft. 
 6.34 in. 
 
 The poet seated upon the steps of a temple, having laid aside his 
 travelling staff, his bag and hat, sings, to his own accompaniment 
 upon the lyre, before the assembled people. Beside him a young 
 man writes down the poem upon a tablet, and another Greek listens 
 with rapt attention. In front of Homer are grouped two young 
 boys, one of whom is armed with a quoit; a man in the prime of life, 
 a woman holding a child, a warrior brandishing his sword, and an old 
 man leaning upon a stick. After these come two figures in antique 
 drapery, one of whom is Mr. Henry Labouchere, and the other 
 Thorvaldsen. (See p. 56, note.) 
 
 Rome, 1836. Mr. Henry Labouchere had ordered from Thorvaldsen a statue of 
 Achilles, which, by the way, was never executed, the pedestal of which was to have 
 been ornamented with several bas-reliefs, representing scenes from Greek Antiquity. 
 The Homer, Achilles and Thetis, Achilles and the Centaur Chiron, The Parting of 
 Hector and Andromache, -^7 ere designed for this purpose; and the variations of 
 Achilles and Briseis, and of Hector confronting Paris and Helen, were remodelled 
 in order to be added to them. 
 
298 
 
 WOliKS OF THOBVALDSEN. 
 
 Entry of Alexande:: into Babylon. 
 (Sec cuts, pp. 102, 182, and 206.) 
 
 Bas-relief; plaster. At the Q •drinal Palace. Rome. Height , 3 ft. 10 06 in. ; length, 
 115 ft. 5.8'i in. 
 
 In the ceDtre of the frieze, Alexander in a triumphal chariot stands 
 erect, his head raised, his sceptre in his right hand and his left hand 
 on his hip. Victoiy, holding with one hand the front of the chariot, 
 supports herself by her wings and guides the horses. 
 
 Behind Alexander march two equerries and two men leading Bu- 
 cephalus. Then Hephsestion on horseback, followed by Parmenio 
 and Amyntas at the head of the Macedonian cavalry ; after whom 
 come the foot-soldiers. Then an aged warrior leading an elephant 
 loaded with booty, and next a Persian general, with head bowed 
 down, under the guard of a young soldier. Next a horseman spur- 
 ring his steed to regain his place in the ranks. At the right extrem- 
 ity of the bas-relief a warrior points out the procession to a man 
 in antique drapery, who is Thorvaldsen himself. 
 
 On the left, in the other half of the composition, the vanquished 
 advance to meet Alexander. At their head the Goddess of Peace, 
 bearing the horn of plenty, offers an olive-branch to the conqueror. 
 Behind her, in a suppliant attitude, appears the Persian general Ma- 
 zieus, accompanied by his five sons and two warriors. Then come 
 women scattering flowers in the way; men are seen erecting an 
 altar for burning perfumes in accordance with the orders of Bagoph- 
 anes ; then two heralds blowing trumpets. Next come presents 
 for the Macedonian king, horses and a lion and tiger, chained. Chal- 
 dean astrologers issue from the city gate where are posted two Per- 
 sian sentinels. Near the gate are a herdsman and his family, and a 
 young shepherd driving home his flock. Vases of perfumes are placed 
 along the top of the city walls, above which are seen the tree-tops 
 of the hanging gardens. The god of the river Tigris, leaning upon 
 an urn and holding a rudder and stalks of wheat, reclines beside the 
 walls of Babylon ; near him are a tiger, suggestive of his name, and 
 the tower of Bclus (or Babel). Two merchants take to flight in a 
 boat ; and farther on, in the shade of the palm-trees that grow be- 
 side the river, a young man is tranquilly Ashing, while his dog is 
 barking. 
 
 Home, 1812. (Sec pp. 49 and 207.) In the Museum is a plaster cast taken from 
 the model. 
 
 This frieze ha.s been twice cut in marble. 1. The first, purchased by the Count of 
 Sommariva. was in 1828 placed in that gentleman's villa, near the Lake of Como. 
 
CATALOGUE. 
 
 299 
 
 The proportions are the same as in the j^histcr of the Quirinal, hut changes haveheeu 
 raade in several of the figures. Alexander, his right hand resting on his sceptre, 
 the left on the front of the chariot, turns his head and raises his eyes. Victory holds 
 the reins in hoth hands. Peace is without wings, and the infant Plutus accompanies 
 her Three other musicians precdde the two Babylonian trumpeters. The Macedo- 
 nians coimt five new horsemen, and a warrior on foot follows the elephant in place 
 of the belated cavalier. Finally, Sommariva himself appears in this frieze beside 
 the artist who points out to him the procession. The plaster model of this variation 
 is in the Thorvaldsen Museum (height, 3 ft. 10.06 in. ; length, 134 ft. 3.80 in.). 2. The 
 second marble, executed at the same time with the above, but finished later, has been 
 placed in the palace of Christiansborg Copenhagen. It differs in several points from 
 the two models above described. Alexander and the Victory are nearly the same r.s 
 in the Count of Sommariva's copy, but at the right hand extremity Thorvaldsen ap- 
 pears alone under a palm-tree. On the left, in place of the fisherman's dog, are sev- 
 eral figures : a young man and a child watching the procession ; another child climbing 
 upon a camel, held by a camel-driver. The river Euphrates takes the place of the 
 Tigris and his attributes The musicians and horsemen added to the first marble 
 appear also in this, and there are in addition a group of Babylonians leading horses, 
 a mother placing her little boy on the back of one of the sheep, and a little girl by 
 her side. The Museum has a marble copy, half-size (height, 1 ft. 10.04 in.; length, 
 75 ft. 11.80 in.), of the frieze of the Christiansborg Palace, as well as full-size models 
 of the added portions. 
 
 Several plaster copies have also been made. One for the Duke of Leuchtenberg 
 was placed in his palace at Munich. Another was jjurchased by an Englishman. 
 These were taken from the frieze in the Quirinal. In France, the Louvre has a half- 
 size model. There is also a copy at Potsdam. 
 
 In the Thorvaldsen Museum is the last model of the centre-piece, in which the head 
 of Alexander, as in the antique medal, is shown in profile. Also a marble copy of 
 the Alexander (a variation slightly diff'ering from that of the Christiansborg frieze), 
 and plaster models of two pieces which were not used : a young man leading a horse, 
 and a warrior holding another horse, frightened, and rearing at the barking of a 
 dog. 
 
 Copies of the Sommariva frieze, by an Italian named Pistrini, were for sale at 
 Scagliola. They were very small, only 1.57 inches in height. The half-size model, 
 like that in the Museum, was sold in Rome, in terra cotta, for a thousand scudi. 
 
 Alexander and Thais. 
 
 Bas-rehef; marble. Tliorvaldsen Museum. Height, 3 ft. 1.79 in ; length, 6 ft. 
 5.95 in. 
 
 Seduced by Thais and heated with wine, Alexander, turning a deaf 
 ear to Parmenio who endeavors to persuade him, takes a torch from 
 the hands of the courtesan to set fire to Persepolis. On the right 
 are two Macedonian warriors, on the left two other courtesans are 
 lighting their torches. A Persian turns away in anger and despair. 
 
 Rome, 1832. Plaster model in Museum. 
 
 Alexander and Thais. 
 Bas-relief; marble. Purchased by Prince Maximilian, of Bavaria. Height, 
 2 ft. 9.46 in. ; length, 6 ft. 6.74 in. 
 
300 
 
 WOBKS OF THOEVALDSEN. 
 
 Alexander orders the warriors who stand behind liim to Ii2;ht 
 their torches. A Macedonian whispers in the ear of one of the cour- 
 tesans ; an old man turns away overwhelmed with grief and leading 
 a child, while a young man who accompanies them seems to meditate 
 resistance. 
 
 Rome, 1837. Variation of the above. Plaster model in Museum. 
 
 NUMA CONSULTING THE NyMPH EGEKIA. 
 
 Bas-relief; plaster. Tliorvaldsen Museum (underground galleries), neight, 1 ft. 
 3.74 in.; length, 2 ft. 1.19 in. 
 
 The nymph, seated beside an urn whence escapes the water of a 
 spring, bends toward Numa and places her hand on the tablet upon 
 which the king is writing. 
 
 Copenhagen. Signed: B. Thorvaldsen fec. 1794. 
 
CATALOGUE. 
 
 301 
 
 ALLEGORICAL COMPOSITIONS. 
 
 The Four Seasons and the Four Ages of Lite. 
 
 Four medallions ; marble. Purchased by King William, of Wiirtemberg. Diam- 
 eter, 2 ft. 3.55 in, 
 
 I. Spring and Childhood,— K young girl, nude, half seated upon a 
 bank, takes flowers from a boy and weaves them into a garland. 
 On her left, a tambourine leans againstabasketcovered with wreaths. 
 A little child, entirely naked, stretches out his hand to offer a bouquet. 
 
 II. Summer and Youth. — A young woman, on her knees, is bind- 
 ing wheat-sheaves ; another, still holding her sickle, is embraced by 
 a young man who oflfers her fruit. 
 
 III. Autumn and Maturity. — A man is returning from the chase, 
 accompanied by his dog and carrying his game upon his shoulder. 
 He has a bunch of grapes in his hand and pauses before his wife, 
 who is seated and nursing her child. 
 
 IV. Winter and Old Age (see cut, p. 150).— An old man wrapped 
 in his cloak sits bending, with hands outspread, over a chafing-dish. 
 His aged wife has risen to light a candle at the lamp which stands 
 on the table. The cat is warming herself by the fire, and wet cloth- 
 ing is hung up to dry. 
 
 Art and the Genius of Light. (J. Genio Lumen.) 
 
 Bas-relief; marble. . . . ? Height, 1 ft. 8.07 in.; length, 2 ft. 3.10 in. 
 
 Art is symbolized by a young woman seated, and resting her head 
 pensively upon her hand ; she holds a stylus and tablet. The Genius 
 approaches to pour oil into the lamp, and thus brings light. 
 
 i;omo, 1808. Plaster model in Museum. We know not what has become of the 
 first marble A half-size copy, also in marble, was presented to Mr. Hope. (See p. 
 37, note.) This composition was used by the engraver Fr. Brandt, for tlie reverse of 
 a medal struck in honor of Thorvaldsen, which bore on its face the i)ortrait of the 
 artist. The legend, A Genio Lumen, engraved upon thia medal, has often served to 
 designate the bas-relief. 
 
302 
 
 WOEKS OF THOBVALDSEN. 
 
 TbS artist made a variation of tliis subject, of which the plaster model is also in 
 the Museum (height, 3 ft. 4.15 in. ; length, 4 ft. 6.33 in. ). The sitting figure has one 
 foot upon a tabouret, a cist and a scroll are under her seat, and the Genius has a 
 piece of drapery over his arm. The column bears the inscription, A Genio Lumen. 
 (See cut, p. 2.) 
 
 The Gexius of Light. 
 
 Bas-relief; sketch. Tliorvaldsen Museum. Medallion: diameter, 1 ft. 0.59 in. 
 The Genius advances with a torch in liis hand and crowned with 
 laurel. Beside him are a lyre, and a cist containing scrolls. 
 
 Nysoe, 1841. Made as a model for the reverse of a medal struck in the reign of 
 Christian VIII as a recompense to be awarded to artists and writers. 
 
 The Gemus of Painting. 
 
 Bas-relief; plaster. Tliorvaldsen Museum. Medallion: diameter, 3 ft. 2. 58 in. 
 
 The Genius is seated ; his features recall those of Raphael ; in his 
 left hand he holds a vase for colors, in his right a paint-brush. He is 
 painting the Annunciation of the Virgin. 
 
 Nysoe, 1843. 
 
 The Gknius of Architectuke. 
 
 Bas-relief; plaster. Tliorvaldsen Museum. Medallion : diameter, 3 ft. 2.58 in. 
 
 This Genius is leaning upon a column before which lie a tablet and 
 a square. He holds in his hand a plumb-line and a compass ; beside 
 him is the owl, perched upon an Ionic capital. 
 
 Signed : Nyscie, 3 December, 1843. 
 
 The Genius of Sculpture. 
 
 Bas-relief; plaster. Tliorvaldsen Museum. Medallion: diameter, 3 ft. 2.58 in. 
 
 The Genius, seated, holds in his hand the chisel and mallet. Be- 
 side him is a bas-relief representing Minerva issuing from the fore- 
 head of Jupiter. 
 
 Nysoe, 1843 
 
 The Genius of Sculpture. 
 
 Das-relief; plaster. Tliorvaldsen Museum. Medallion : diameter, 3 ft. 1.79 in. 
 
 Variation of the preceding composition. The Genius is seated 
 upon the eagle of Jupiter, at the foot of a colossal statue of the 
 god. 
 
 Copenhagen, 1844. 
 
CATALOGUE. 
 
 303 
 
 The Genius uf Sculpture. 
 
 Sketch ia outline, drawn upon a slate. Thorvaldsen Museum. Medallion : diam- 
 eter, 3 ft. 2.58 in. 
 
 A new rendering of the same subject. The Genius of Sculpture^ 
 having finished his work, reposes on the shoulder of the statue of 
 Jupiter. The head of the statue is seen, a part of the breast and 
 the thunderbolt. 
 
 Thorvaldsen made this drawing a few days before his death. (See p. 178.) 
 
 The Genii of Architectuue, Sculituhe, and Painting. 
 
 Bas-relief; plaster. Thorvaldsen ]\ruseum. Medallion: diameter, 2 ft. 7.10 in. 
 
 The three Genii embrace each other as they fly, each bearing the 
 implements of his art. 
 
 Nysoe, 1843 This composition has been engraved for the gold medal given as a 
 prize by the Copenhagen Academy of Fine Arts. 
 
 The Gi']nius of Poetiiy. 
 
 Bas-relief; plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum. Height, 2 ft. 6.31 in. ; length, 3 f , 
 10.06 in. 
 
 The Genius, seated, is singing and playing upon the lyre : befon 
 him lie the stylus of Clio and a torch leaning against a cist contaip 
 ing scrolls ; on the othf^r side, a shepherd's crook and the tragic an> 
 comic masks, attributes of Melpomene and 'I halia. 
 
 Kome, about 1836. The symbols of the Muses, as well as the zodiacal signs, Sco 
 pio and Taurus, corresponding to the birth (November) and the death (May) cv' 
 Schiller, lead to the supposition that this composition was intended for the monumeii» 
 of that poet. The upper part is arched. 
 
 The Genius of Poetry. 
 
 Bas-relief; plaster. Thorvaldsen .\fuseum. Medallion : diameter, 3 ft. 3.37 in. 
 
 The Genius stands with head raised, the plectrum in his right 
 hand, and the lyre in his left. At his feet are a cist and a laurel 
 crown. 
 
 Copenhagen, 1844 
 
 The Genh of Harmony and of Poictry. 
 
 Bas-relief; plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum. Medallion: diameter, 2 ft. 7.10 in. 
 
 The two Genii fly side by side ; one plays upon the lyre, the other 
 rests his arm upon the shoulder of the first, and holds the stylus and 
 ii scroll partly unrolled. The soul also appears, under the form of a 
 butterfly. 
 
 The scroll bears the inscription : Nysoe, 30 July, 1843. 
 
304 WOEKS OF THOBVALBSEN. 
 
 The Genius of, Peace and of Liberty. 
 
 Bas-relief; plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum. Height, 2 ft. 6.31 in.; length, 6 ft. 
 3.19 in. 
 
 The Genius wears the cap of liberty surrounded by a wreath of 
 laurel. A lion and an eagle are feeding from a large dish which he 
 offers them kneeling. Behind the Genius is a dog, emblem of fidel- 
 ity. The sword, helmet, shield, and banner, instruments of oppres- 
 sion, now become useless, lie against the trunk of a tree which is 
 catching fire from a torch. 
 
 Copenhagen, 1844. (See p. 177.; 
 
 The Genh of Government. 
 
 Two bas-reliefs ; marble. Thorvaldsen Museum. Height, 3 ft. 3.37 in. ; length, 
 5 ft. 0.62 in. 
 
 One is seated, crowned with laurel, upon a lion ; his right hand 
 rests upon the tables of the law, his left upon a rudder. 
 The other, with head raised, holds a balance and a mace. 
 
 Rome, 1837. Intended for the pedestal of the statue of Maximilian of Bavaria, 
 but not used. (See p. 129.) 
 
 Genh. 
 
 Twenty bas-reliefs ; marble. Villa Torlonia. Oval medallions. Height, 11.02 in. ; 
 width, 7.87 in. 
 
 Genius of Poetry, with lyre and plectrum. 
 
 Genius of Tragedy, with mace and tragic mask. 
 
 Genius of Comedy, with crook and comic mask. 
 
 Genius of Music, playing upon the double flute. 
 
 Genius of the Dance, playing upon the tambourine. 
 
 Genius of Administration, bearing a rudder upon his shoulder. 
 
 Genius of War, unsheathing a sword. 
 
 Genius of Navigation, holding in his arms the prow of a skiff. 
 Genius of Commerce, armed with the caduceus of Mercury, and 
 holding a purse. 
 
 Genius of Medicine, holding a cup and the staff of ^sculapius. 
 Genius of Astronomy, holding a compass and a celestial globe. 
 Genius of Beligion, raising his hands to heaven, in prayer. 
 Genius of Painting, holding a brush and a vase for colors. 
 Genius of Sculpture, holding the mallet and chisel. 
 Genius of Architecture, with compass and square. 
 Genius of Hunting, armed with a spear and carrying game. 
 (renins of Fishing, with a line and a fish. 
 
CATALOGUE. 
 
 305 
 
 (jrenius of Horticulture^ a flower in his hand and a basket of flowers 
 on his head. 
 
 Genius of Agriculture, with wheat-sheaves and a sickle. 
 Genius of Justice, holding- a balance. 
 
 Rome, 1836, modelled by V. Galli. after designs by Thorvaldsen. The plaster 
 sketches are in the Museum. Some of them are oval, others square, and others re- 
 peated in both forms. 
 
 The Gknius of the New Year. 
 
 Bas-relief; plaster. Tliorvaldsen Museum. Medallion : diameter, 1 ft. 10.44 in. 
 
 The Genius, mounted upon skates, is traversing the zodiacal sign, 
 Capricon. He holds upon his arm a garland of flowers (Spring), in 
 his hands a sickle and wheat-sheaves (Summer), and a bunch of 
 grapes (Autumn). 
 
 Nysoe, 1840, for 1st January, 1S41. 
 
 Justice. 
 
 Bas-relief; plaster. Tlwrvaldsen Museum. Height, 2 ft. 9.46 in.; width, 2 ft. 
 0.01 in. 
 
 Justice, seated in the shadow of two palm-trees whose branches 
 meet above her head, holds upon her knees an open code ; her left 
 hand is placed upon a sword; her right holds a balance, having in 
 one scale a royal crown, in the other a peasant's sickle. 
 
 Signed: Nysoe, 22 May, 1841. 
 
 Denmark. 
 
 Bas-relief; sketch Tlwrvaldsen Museum. Medallion: diameter, 1 ft. 6.50 in. 
 
 Denmark is represented under the form of a woman on her knees, 
 praying. A Danish inscription records her prayer : God save the 
 king {Gud velsigne Kongen). 
 
 Copenhagen, 1839. For the medal struck on the accession of Christian VIII to the 
 throne. 
 
306 WOEKS OF THOIiVALDSEN. 
 
 THE PRINCESS BARYATINSKA. 
 
 PORTKAITS. 
 I. 
 
 STATUES. 
 The Princess Caroline- Amelia. 
 
 Plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum. ITeight, 5 ft. 9.68 in. 
 
 The princess, since Queen of Denmark, is dressed in a long robe 
 fastened at the waist, leaving the shoulders and arms uncovered. 
 The hands, one raised, the other lowered, hold a cloak which she is 
 in the act of putting on. 
 
 Home, 18'27. There is also in the Museum a sketch (height, 1 ft. 6.50 in.)- 
 
 The Princess Baryatixska. 
 
 Marble. Thorvaldsen Museum. Height, 6 ft. 0.44 in. 
 
CATALOGUE. 
 
 307 
 
 The princess stands in a pensive attitude, with h^r right hand 
 under her chin, and holding in her left the drapery which falls from 
 her shoulder. 
 
 Rome, 1818. Plaster model also in Museum. (See p. 60.) 
 
 The Countess D'Ostermann. 
 
 Marble. Purchased by Count d?Ostermann. Height, 4 ft. 6.33 in. 
 
 The countess is seated, her head in a pensive attitude, her hands 
 resting in her lap. An ample drapery is thrown over her dress, 
 which is confined by a belt at the waist. 
 
 Home, 1815. The Museum has the plaster model, a copy in marble, and a sketch, 
 in which the attitude is different (height, 1 ft. 5.71 in.). Two other maquettes, of 
 neai'ly the same size, were probably made for this figure. 
 
 Thouvaldsen. (See cut, p. 151.) 
 
 Plaster. At Nysoe. Height, 6 ft. 7.13 in. 
 
 The sculptor, in his working dress, stands with a chisel in his left 
 hand, and a hammer in his right. He leans upon the model of his 
 statue of Hope. 
 
 Nysoe, 1839. (See p. 152.) The Museum has a plaster cast taken from the model, 
 and a sketch (height, 2 ft. 2.77 in.). 
 
 Geokgina-Elisabeth Russell. 
 
 Marble. Duke of Bedford^s collection, Wohurn Abbey, England. Height, 3 ft. 
 4.15 in. 
 
 The daughter of the Duke of Bedford, aged three years, is repre- 
 sented standing, and nude; her little hand alone holding her drapery 
 upon the left hip. 
 
 Uome, 1814. The Museum has a plaster cast of the model. 
 
 FiGuni: OF a Child. 
 
 Plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum. Height, 3 ft. 5.73 in. 
 
 A young girl represented as Psyche, nude, with butterfly's wings : 
 she carries her drapery suspended from her left arm, and holds one 
 of Cupid's arrows, of whicii slic is feeling the point. 
 
 Nysoe, 1839. 
 
 LUTHEK. 
 
 Sketch. Tlwrv(ddsen Museum. Height, 2 ft. 3.55 in. 
 
 Tlie great reformer points to the Bible with his left hand, and, 
 with his right hand raised, seems to be expounding the text. 
 Copenhagen, about 1840. Intended for the Frue Kirke, but not executed. 
 
3o8 WOBKS OF THOBVALDSEN. 
 
 Melanchthon. 
 
 Sketch, lliorvaldsen Museum. Height, 2 ft. 3.95 in. 
 
 Melanchthon is standing, dressed in a long robe, holding the Bible, 
 and having his cap in his right hand. 
 
 Copenhagen, about 1840. Intended as a companion to the above. Not executed. 
 
 Alberto Paulsen. 
 
 Sketch. Thorvaldsen Museum. Height, 1 ft 5.32 in. 
 
 The young man, Thorvaldsen's grandson, is represented in a hunt- 
 ing dress, one foot resting upon the trunk of a tree. He is caressing 
 his dog. 
 
 Nysoe, 1843. 
 
 II. 
 
 BUSTS. 
 
 [The greater part of the busts of contemporary persons enumerated in this Cat- 
 alogue were probably cut in marble ; but, in cases where we have no positive infor- 
 mation to that effect, we have mentioned only the plaster models in possession of the 
 Thorvaldsen Museum.] 
 
 Saint Apollinauius, Bishop of R.wenna. 
 
 Colossal bust; marble. At Ravenna. 
 
 Rome, about 1822. Plaster model in Museum. 
 
 Leonaijdo of Pisa. 
 
 Colossal hermes ; marble. Executed for the Museum of the Capitol. 
 
 Rome, . Bears the inscription : Leonardo Pisano detto Fibonacci principe 
 
 <?e' matematici visse nel secolo XII. On one side : Monsignor Girolamo Galanti 
 pose; on the other : Alberto Thorvaldsen scolpi. Piaster model in Museum. 
 
 Maximilian, Electou of Bavaria. 
 
 Colossal hermes ; plaster. Thorvaldsen ^^useum. 
 
 Rome, 1831. First model for the equestrian statue of the Elector. 
 
 LUTIIER. 
 
 Hermes; unfinished sketch. Thorvaldsen Museum. Thorvaldsen's last work. 
 (See p. 178.) 
 
 Louis Holberg, a Danish Writer. 
 
 Hermes ; plaster. Nysoe, 1839. 
 
CATALOGUE. 309 
 
 Napoleon. 
 
 Colossal tust ; marble. Purchased by Mr. Alexander Murrajj. 
 
 The artist has chosen to represent the apotheosis of Napoleon. 
 Clothed as a Roman emperor, a laurel crown upon his head, the aegis 
 on his shoulder, the hero rests upon the terrestrial globe, which in 
 turn is upheld by an eagle. The back of the bust rests upon a palm. 
 
 Rome, 1830. I'laster model in Museum. A repetition in marble was placed in the 
 Salle du Trone, in the palace of the Tuileries. (See p. 111.) 
 
 Alexander I, Emperor of Russla.. 
 
 Bust; marble. Purchased by the Emperor. 
 Warsaw, 1820. Often repeated in marble. (Seep. 78.) 
 
 Pius VII. 
 
 Bust; plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum. Model for tlu' statue. 
 
 Cardinal Consalvi. 
 
 Bust; plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum. 
 Rome, 1824. Model for the monument. 
 
 Louis, Prince Royal of Bavaria. 
 
 Bust; Carrara marble. Glyptothek, Munich. 
 
 Rome, 1822. The Museum has the plaster model, and a repetition in marble. 
 
 Frederick VI, King of Denmark. 
 
 Bust; plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum. 
 Copenhagen, 1819. 
 
 Maria- Sophia-Fred ERIK A, Queen of Denmark. 
 
 Bust; plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum. 
 Copenhagen, 1819. 
 
 Caroline of Denmark, Princess Royal. 
 
 Bust; plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum. 
 Copenhagen, 1819. 
 
 Wilhelmina-Maria of Denmark. 
 Bust; plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum. 
 Represented as a child. 
 
 Copenhagen, 1819. 
 
WORKS OF THOBVALDSEN. 
 
 Wiliielmina-Makia of Dj:nmakk. 
 Bust; marble. Thorvaldsen Museum. 
 The Princess is represented as ii young girl. 
 
 The Museum also has the plaster model. 
 
 C IIRISTI AN-FrE D ERICK. 
 Bust ; marble. In Denmark. 
 
 Hereditary Prince of Denmarlv, afterward Kin^- Christian VIII. 
 Rome, 1821. Often repeated in marble. Plaster model in Museum. 
 
 Caroline - Am elia . 
 Bust; marble. In Denmark. 
 "Wife of Prince Christian Frederick. 
 
 Rome, 1821. Often repeated in marble. Plaster model in Museum. 
 
 FREDElJICK-CHAltLES-CHRISTlAN. 
 Bust; plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum. 
 
 This prince, here represented at the age of eleven years, was after- 
 ward King of Denmark under the title of Frederick VII. 
 
 Copenhagen, 1819. 
 
 Frederick-Charles- Christian. 
 Bust; plaster. I'horvaldsen Museum. 
 The same at the age of nineteen. 
 Copenhagen, 1827. 
 
 Fr.EDERICK-WlLLIAM. 
 
 Bust ; iDlaster. Thorvaldsen Museum. 
 Prince of Hesse Philippsthal. 
 
 Rome, 1822. 
 
 JULIA-SOPHIA. 
 
 Bust; plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum. 
 Princess of Denmark, wife of the above. 
 Rome, 1822. 
 
 Portrait or a Lady. 
 
 Bust; plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum. 
 
 Supposed to be that of the Grand Duchess Helena of Russia, modelled at Rome, 
 1829. (Seep. 111.) 
 
CATALOGUE. 
 
 Prince C. de Mktternich. 
 
 Bust; marble. Thorvaldsen Museum. 
 Austrian Minister. 
 
 Plaster model also in Museum. 
 
 Prince Poniatowski. 
 
 Bust; plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum. 
 
 Model for the head of the equestrian statue. 
 
 GkNEHAL PlilNCE VON SCHWARZRNBERG. 
 Bust; plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum. 
 
 William von Humboldt. 
 
 Hermes; plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum. 
 
 Prussian Minister. 
 
 Ciiristian-Charles-Frederick-Augustus. 
 
 Bust; marble. Thorvaldsen Museum. 
 Duke of Augustenbourg. 
 Plaster model in Museum. 
 
 Frederick-Augustus-Emilius. 
 
 Bust; marble. Thorvaldsen Museum. 
 
 Prince of Augustenbourg. 
 
 Plaster model also in Museum. 
 
 Bahon von Schubart. 
 
 Colossal; marble. Thorvaldsen Museum. 
 
 Danish ambassador. 
 
 Rome, 1804-1805. 
 
 Baroness von Schubart. 
 
 Colossal; marble. Thorvaldsen Museum. 
 Wife of the above. 
 
 Rome, 1804-5. 
 
 Count von Rantzau von Breitenbourg. 
 
 Colossal; marble. Thorvaldsen Museum. 
 Danish Minister of State. 
 
 Rome, 1804-5. 
 
312 
 
 WOBKS OF THOBVALBSEN. 
 
 Count von Bernstorff. 
 Bust; marble. Thorvaldsen Museum. 
 Danish Minister of State, 
 
 Modelled, Copenhagen, 1795. Cut in marble, Rome, 1802. (See p. 14.) 
 
 Count von Bernstorff. 
 
 Colossal; plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum. 
 Rome, 1804-5. 
 
 Count Adam von Moltke-Nutschau. 
 Colossal ; plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum. 
 Rome, 1804-5. 
 
 Henky Hjelmstjerne. 
 Hermes ; plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum. 
 Privy Counsellor to the King of Denmark. 
 
 Baron Hans Holsten. 
 Hermes ; plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum. 
 Admiral. 
 
 Copenhagen. Inscription : 17 Nov. 1840, 
 
 Count Christian von Danneskjold Samsoe. 
 
 Bust; plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum. 
 
 Countess Henrietta von Danneskjold. 
 Hermes ; plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum. 
 Wife of the above. 
 
 Countess Louisa von Danneskjold. 
 Bust; plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum. 
 
 Afterward Duchess of Augustenbourg, daughter of the above. 
 Mademoiselle Ida Brun. 
 
 Hermes; plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum. 
 Afterward Countess de Bombelles. 
 Rome, 1810. 
 
 Baroness Christine vox Stamps. 
 Hermes ; marble. At N^jsoe. 
 Plaster model in Museum. 
 
CATALOGUE. 
 
 313 
 
 Fkederick-Siegfred Vogt. 
 
 Bust; marble. Thorvaldsen Museum. 
 Counsellor of State. 
 
 Plaster model also in Musemn. 
 
 Bertel Thorvaldsen. 
 
 Colossal hermes ; marble. Academy of Fine Arts, Copenhagen. 
 Rome, 1815. The Museum has a cast taken from the marble. A repetition in 
 marble is in possession of Herr Donner, at Altona. 
 
 Horace Vernet. 
 Colossal hermes ; marble. Thorvaldsen Museum. 
 Rome, 1833. The model, life-size, also in Museum. (See p. 130.) 
 
 Lord Byrox. 
 Bust; marble. Thorvaldsen Museum. 
 Rome, 1817. Plaster model also in Museum. (See p. 58.) 
 
 Sir Walter Scott. 
 Bust ; marble. In England. 
 
 Rome, 1831. Plaster model in Museum. (See p. 127.) 
 
 C. W. ECKERSBERG. 
 Hermes ; plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum. 
 Danish painter. 
 
 Bears the inscription : Eckersberg, Roma, il 12 Maggio, 1816. Eckersberg painted 
 a portrait of Thorvaldsen, which is in the Museum. 
 
 C. A. TiEDJE. 
 
 Colossal bust ; plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum. 
 A Danish poet. 
 
 Erederick Brandt. 
 Bust ; plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum. 
 A Danish artist, engraver of medals. 
 
 J. C. Dahl. 
 
 Hermes ; plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum. 
 A Norwegian landscape painter. 
 
314 
 
 WOBKS OF THOBVALDSEN. 
 
 Oehlexschlaegek. 
 
 Hermes ; plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum. 
 A Danish poet. 
 Nysoe, 1839. 
 
 Tycho Rothe. 
 
 Hermes; marble. Thorvaldsen Museum. 
 Philosopher. 
 
 Modelled, Copenhagen, 1795. Cut in marble, Rome. 1797. (See p. 15.) 
 
 Gaspaud Bartholin-Eichel. 
 Bust ; plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum. 
 
 J. Knudzon. 
 
 Bust; marble. At Trondhjem. 
 Merchant of Trondhjem. 
 
 Plaster model in Museum. 
 
 H. C. Kkudzon'. 
 
 Bust; marble. At Trondhjem. 
 
 Brother of the above. 
 
 Plaster model in Museum. 
 
 Madame HQyer. 
 
 Bust ; plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum. 
 
 Mother of the Danish painter, C. F. Hoyer. 
 
 C. H. DONNER. 
 
 Bust; plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum. 
 Merchant of Altona. 
 
 Madame von Krause. 
 
 Bust ; plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum. 
 
 Madame de Reiifuss. 
 
 Hermes; plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum. 
 
 Eauon D'Eichthal. 
 
 Bust; plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum. 
 Banker in Munich. 
 
 Princess Baryatinska. 
 Bust; plaster. Model for the statue. Thorvaldsen Museum. 
 
 The Princess Narischkin. 
 
 Bust; plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum. 
 
CATALOGUE. 
 
 The Countess Potocka. 
 
 Bust ; plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum. 
 
 Sill Thomas Maitland. 
 
 Colossal bust ; plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum. 
 Rome, 1818-19. For the monument. 
 
 Lord Gowek, Duke of Sutherland. 
 
 Bust ; plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum. 
 
 Lord W. Bentink. 
 Hermes ; plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum. 
 
 Lord Exmouth. 
 
 Hermes ; plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum. 
 English admiral. 
 
 The Countess of Dietrichstein. 
 Bust; plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum. 
 
 The Countess of Nugent. 
 
 Bust; plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum. 
 
 The Misses Lugan. 
 
 Two busts ; plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum. 
 
 Daughters of Lord Lucan. 
 
 Lady Sandwich. 
 Bust; plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum. 
 
 Mr. Alexander Baillik. 
 
 Bust; marble. In England. Plaster model in Museum. 
 
 M. Diwet. 
 Bust ; plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum. 
 
 Mrs. Hope. 
 
 Bust; marble. In England. Fluster model in Museum. 
 
 The Messrs. Hope. 
 
 Two busts ; marble. In England. Plaster models in Museum. 
 
 Sons of Sir Thomas Hope. 
 
 The Count of Sommariva. 
 
 Hermes; marble. Thorvaldsen Museum. Plaster model also in Museum. 
 
 The Count of Sommariva. 
 Bust; plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum. Executed several years later than tJie 
 above. 
 
3i6 
 
 WORKS OF THOBVALDSEJSr. 
 
 The Mauchionkss Di Firkxzi. 
 Bust; plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum. 
 
 Prince Butera. 
 Bust; plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum. 
 
 The Princess Butera. 
 
 Bust; plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum. 
 
 Giovanni Torlonia. 
 Bust; plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum. 
 
 Duke of Bracciano. 
 
 G.vzi-Eddin-Heyder. 
 Bust; plaster. Thorvaldsen Aluseum. 
 
 King of Oude, author of a Persian Grammar and of the celebrated 
 Persian dictionary, Haft culzum, "The Seven Seas." Modelled from 
 a painted portrait. The king wears his national dress. 
 
 Rome, 1824. 
 
 VlTTORIA CaRDONI. 
 Bust ; plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum. 
 Rome, 1821. (Seep. 89.) 
 
 Portrait of a Man. 
 Bust; marble. Thorvaldsen Museum. 
 The plaster model also in Museum. 
 
 Portraits of Unknown Men. 
 Twenty-one busts or hermes ; plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum. 
 
 Portraits of Unknown Women. 
 Ten busts or hermes ; plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum. 
 
 PORTKAITS OF UNKNOWN CHILDREN. 
 Two busts; plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum. 
 
 III. 
 
 MEDALLIONS. 
 The Philosopher Henri Steffens. 
 
 Bas-relief; plaster. Thot'valdsen Museum. Diameter, 1 ft. 6.89 in. 
 Nysoe, 1840. 
 
 Profi':ssor E. H. Loffler. 
 
 Bas-relief; plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum. Diameter, 1 ft. 6.89 in. 
 
 Professor of drawing in the Academy of Fine Arts, Copenhagen. 
 Figure of an Unknown Woman. 
 
 Bas-relief; plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum. Diameter, 1 ft. 6.89 in. 
 
CATALOGUE, 
 
 DIVERS SUBJECTS. 
 
 I. 
 
 STATUES. 
 
 A Young Shepherd. 
 
 Statue; marble. Purchased by Herr von Krause, Wilsdruff, near Dresden. 
 Height, 4 ft. 10.26 in. 
 
 He is seated upon a rock, with his right le^: raised aud his left 
 hand resting- upon his crook. His dog is on his right side. 
 
 Rome, 1817. lias been repeated in marble a great number of times. Repetitions 
 were purchased by Lord Grantley, Lord Altman, Count von Schonborn, Herr Donner, 
 of Altona. In Count von Schonboi-n's copy a syrinx lies at the feet of the figure. 
 The King of Prussia had this statue cast in bronze by JoUage and Hoffgarten. 
 Another bronze copy was cast in Paris in 1828. Plaster model and a copy in marble 
 in the Museum. 
 
 A Roman Soldiek. 
 
 Statue ; plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum. Height, 6 ft. 5.95 in. 
 
 The soldier, leaning against a rock, turns his head to listen. 
 
 Intended for the right side of the pediment in the Preaching of St. John the Bap- 
 list, but suppressed. 
 
 A Jew. 
 
 Statue; plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum. Height, 4 ft. 9.08 in. 
 
 This personage, seated in an attentive attitude, was also to have 
 formed part of the group of St. John the Baptist, but the statue was 
 not executed. 
 
 A Dancing-Girl. 
 
 Statue; marble. Esterhazy Gallery, Vienna. Height, 5 ft. 10.47 in. 
 
 The young girl wears a robe fastened at the waist by a belt, and 
 has upon her head a wreath of flowers. The left hand is raised, the 
 right lowered, and from one to the other flutters a light drapery. 
 
3i8 
 
 WOBKS OF THOBVALDSEN. 
 
 Rome, 1817. (Seep. 58.) The plaster model is in the Museum. Herr Thiele has 
 the sketch. 
 
 A Dancing-Girl. 
 
 Statue; marble. Purchased by Si[/nor Torlonia, Rome. Height, 5 ft. 10.47 in. 
 Variation of the above. The head is turned to the left, and both 
 arms are lowered, to allow the statue to be placed in a niche. 
 Modelled soon after the above. Plaster model in Museum. 
 
 A Little Dancing-Giul. (See cut, p. 117.) 
 
 Statue; marble. Purchased by Signor Torlonia, Rome. 
 
 The little girl has set clown her basket beside her. The upper part 
 of her dress, having slipped down over the arm, leaves the bosom 
 partly uncovered. Her hair is gathered back and knotted on the top 
 of her head. 
 
 Rome, 1837. The Museum has a repetition in marble, the model in plaster, and a 
 sketch, 2 ft. 0.40 inches in height. (See p. 204.) 
 
 A Dancing-Girl. 
 
 Statuette ; sketch ; plaster. In possession of the Baroness von Stam2)e, Nysoe.. 
 Height, 3 ft. 3,37 in. 
 
 The young girl holds a tambourine. 
 
 The Museum has a small sketch of this figure. Height, 2 ft. 0.40 in. 
 
 A Young Girl. 
 
 Statuette; sketch; plaster. Thorvaldsoi Museum. Height, 2 ft. 3.16 in. 
 She is carrying a basket of flowers and offering a rose. 
 
 A Young Man. 
 Statuette; sketch; plaster. Thorvaldsen Afuseum. Height, 2 ft. 0.40 in. 
 The young man stands leaning against the trunk of a tree, with 
 his dog beside him. The right hand is wanting- 
 
 A Recumbent Lion. 
 
 Statue; marble. Thorvaldsen Museum. Height, 2 ft. 10.25 in.; length, 5 ft. 
 2.99 in. 
 
 Rome, 1825. Probably intended to form jiart of the monument to l*rince von 
 Schwarzenberg. (tee p. lO-'x) Tlic Museum has also the plaster model. 
 
CATALOGUE. 
 
 319 
 
 II. 
 
 BAS-RELIEFS. 
 The Baroness von Stamfe and her Childken. 
 
 Das-relief; sketch ; plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum. Height, 2 ft. 0.15 in. ; length, 
 3 ft. 3.37 in. 
 
 This composition represents an interior at Nysoe, in the chateau 
 of the baron. Thorvaldsen is leaning upon an easel on which is the 
 sketch of the Apostle Saint Andrew. Before him is the baroness, 
 seated with her two daughters beside her. On the other side, her 
 little son is playing with the artist's water-cup. 
 
 Nysoe, 1S40. 
 
 The Baron von Stampe and his Sons. 
 
 Bas-relief; sketch ; plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum. Height, 2 ft. 0.16 in. ; length, 
 3 ft. 3.37 in. 
 
 The scene is laid by the shore of the sea, near which the barony 
 of Stampe is situated. The baron has just been taking a bath, and 
 is drying himself. The eldest son, also nude, is riding a horse 
 toward the water ; another son is returning from the chase, and is 
 displaying his game. 
 
 Nysije, 1840. 
 
 A Mounted Huntkr. 
 
 Bas-relief; plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum. Height, 3 ft. 5.33 in. ; length, 3 ft. 
 8.88 in. 
 
 Clothed in a lion's skin, the end of which is drawn over his head, 
 he carries over his shoulder a spear to which is suspended a hare he 
 has just killed. His horse is going at a brisk trot. 
 
 Rome, 1834. 
 
 A Mounted Huntress. 
 
 Bas-relief; plaster. Thorvaldsen Museum. Height, 3 ft. 4.15 in.; length, 4 ft. 
 1.21 in. 
 
 She is dressed in a short tunic, over which is the skin of a wild 
 boar ; in her right hand she holds a bow, and with her left is drawing 
 an arrow from her quiver. A bird she has killed hangs from her 
 belt, and a dog runs beside the horse. 
 
 Rome, 1834. 
 
320 WOBKS OF THOBVALDSEN. 
 
 Victory crowning a Woumded Soldier. 
 
 Bas-relief; jjlaster. 
 
 Ad officer wearing a modern uniform is stretched upon the ground, 
 his hand still grasping his sword. Victory holds a crown above the 
 head of the dying man. 
 
 Destination unknown. This bas-relief has not been executed in marble. A 
 drawing of it is given by Herr Thiele, vol. i, plate 77. 
 
 (Note to page 243.) The Christ 
 
 A copy in marble of Thorvaldsen's statue of Clirist stands upon the 
 apex of the pediment of the Church of the Immaculate Conception, in 
 Harrison Avenue, Boston. 
 
 (Note to page 272.) Ganymede and the Eagle. 
 
 A repetition of this group, in marble (height, 1 ft. 4.75 in.; length, 
 2 ft. 1.13 in.), is now (1873) in possession of Mr. William Appleton, of 
 Boston The liistory of its acquisition is thus given by its owner. 
 
 " The Ganymede of Thorvaldsen (reduced size), now in possession of 
 Mr. William Appleton, of Boston, was purchased in Rome, at the studio 
 of the sculptor, in 1838. Mrs. Appleton (then Miss Warren, of Boston) 
 was in Rome at the time, with her father and family, and visited the 
 studio of Thorvaldsen with Mr. Henry Cabot, who purchased the 
 Ganymede, and presented it to Mr. Appleton, the father of the present 
 owner, for some friendly service rendered." 
 
 Cambridge : Presswork by .John Wilson and Son. 
 
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