Danish, 1770 - 1844
After the death of Antonio Canova in 1822, Thorwaldsen became the leading and probably most influential sculptor in Europe. Under the tutelage of Johannes Wiedewelt and Nicolai Abildgaard in his native Denmark, he learned to appreciate and emulate the classical tradition in sculpture and soon became a major apostle of Neo-classicism. A traveling scholarship took him to Rome in 1797 and through the patronage of the English collector Thomas Hope and others he was able to remain there for most of his life, returning more-or-less permanently to Denmark only in 1838. His Roman studio became a mandatory stop on the tours of the wealthy and the educated and his influence on the younger generation of sculptors arriving in Italy from across Europe and America is immeasurable. Even before his death, plans were well under way to establish the Thorwaldsen Museum in Copenhagen which remains a tribute to the sculptor's importance, fame and popularity, both in his native country and around the world.
During his lifetime, Thorwaldsen's work was well known in America and examples were sought after. Samuel F. B. Morse knew this and made efforts to acquire some casts of the great Dane's sculptures for the fledgling National Academy. He wrote from Rome to John L. Morton, Secretery of the Academy, in 1830:
I have been engaged for some time past in painting the Portrait of Thorvaldsen [now in the collection of Her Majesty the Queen of Denmark] the great Sculptor, which I intend sending to Philip Hone, Esq., in fulfilment of my commission to him. Thorvaldsen is much pleased with it and when it was completed, he generously offered me a choice from any of his works in plaster of Paris for our Academy provided we would bear the expencesof transportation etc. This is an offer not made every day nor to everyone, and I feel exceedingly anxious to avail myself of it for the benefit of the arts in our country. I have been repeatedly to his studio for the purpose of making a careful selection.
Though Morse ideally wanted to acquire plaster casts of Thorwaldsen's huge series of St. John Preaching, consisting of a number of life-size figures and groups, the cost was understandably prohibitive. The following year, he wrote to Morton that two works by Thorwaldsen, Mercury (probably a cast of Mercury About to Kill Argus of 1818-22) and Venus with the Apple (a cast of a work of 1813-16), were on their way to the Academy along with casts of works by the Italian sculptor Trentenova Raimondo Trentenova (1792-1832). Morse also acquired at least two examples of Thorwaldsen's work for his own collection, a cast of a bas-relief, The Triumph of Alexander, which Morse exhibited at the Academy in 1833 (cat. no. 207) and, according to George Lober, a self-portrait drawing of the sculptor, inscribed on the reverse "To my American friend, Samuel F. B. Morse." Undoubtedly, Morse was responsible for the Honorary Membership which the Academy bestowed upon Thorwaldsen in 1829.
During the first half of the 19th century, other works by Thorwaldsen entered the Academy's collection. In 1832, Count Hawks Le Grice, author of Walks through the Studii of the Sculptors at Rome (Rome, 1841), donated a number of medals by Thorwaldsen to the Academy and in 1839 three unidentified bas-reliefs by the Dane were purchased from a Mr. Kramp for thirty dollars. In 1842, six more reliefs were donated, four of which represented the seasons. All of these works had apparently disappeared from the Academy's collection by 1910, probably due to their having been made of plaster. It should also be noted that, Thorwaldsen being who he was, these casts were almost certainly acquired to be used in the Academy's art school for studying and copying by students, a process which does not add to the longevity of any cast.
During his lifetime, Thorwaldsen's work was well known in America and examples were sought after. Samuel F. B. Morse knew this and made efforts to acquire some casts of the great Dane's sculptures for the fledgling National Academy. He wrote from Rome to John L. Morton, Secretery of the Academy, in 1830:
I have been engaged for some time past in painting the Portrait of Thorvaldsen [now in the collection of Her Majesty the Queen of Denmark] the great Sculptor, which I intend sending to Philip Hone, Esq., in fulfilment of my commission to him. Thorvaldsen is much pleased with it and when it was completed, he generously offered me a choice from any of his works in plaster of Paris for our Academy provided we would bear the expencesof transportation etc. This is an offer not made every day nor to everyone, and I feel exceedingly anxious to avail myself of it for the benefit of the arts in our country. I have been repeatedly to his studio for the purpose of making a careful selection.
Though Morse ideally wanted to acquire plaster casts of Thorwaldsen's huge series of St. John Preaching, consisting of a number of life-size figures and groups, the cost was understandably prohibitive. The following year, he wrote to Morton that two works by Thorwaldsen, Mercury (probably a cast of Mercury About to Kill Argus of 1818-22) and Venus with the Apple (a cast of a work of 1813-16), were on their way to the Academy along with casts of works by the Italian sculptor Trentenova Raimondo Trentenova (1792-1832). Morse also acquired at least two examples of Thorwaldsen's work for his own collection, a cast of a bas-relief, The Triumph of Alexander, which Morse exhibited at the Academy in 1833 (cat. no. 207) and, according to George Lober, a self-portrait drawing of the sculptor, inscribed on the reverse "To my American friend, Samuel F. B. Morse." Undoubtedly, Morse was responsible for the Honorary Membership which the Academy bestowed upon Thorwaldsen in 1829.
During the first half of the 19th century, other works by Thorwaldsen entered the Academy's collection. In 1832, Count Hawks Le Grice, author of Walks through the Studii of the Sculptors at Rome (Rome, 1841), donated a number of medals by Thorwaldsen to the Academy and in 1839 three unidentified bas-reliefs by the Dane were purchased from a Mr. Kramp for thirty dollars. In 1842, six more reliefs were donated, four of which represented the seasons. All of these works had apparently disappeared from the Academy's collection by 1910, probably due to their having been made of plaster. It should also be noted that, Thorwaldsen being who he was, these casts were almost certainly acquired to be used in the Academy's art school for studying and copying by students, a process which does not add to the longevity of any cast.
