Name three great sculptors and, more than likely, Michelangelo, Donatello, or Gian Lorenzo Bernini would first come to your mind. But what about Bertel Thorvaldsen? He believed the only way to become a great artist was to copy classical art. And he became one of the best neoclassical sculptors of his time.
Even Italian sculptor Antonio Canova, whom many believe to be the greatest neoclassical sculptor, admired Thorvaldsen’s work.
The two worked in Rome at the same time, when in the second half of the 18th century, the ornate and theatrical rococo style was on its way out and a new style developed whereby artists looked to the principles of the ancient world to inform their art. Art became simple and refined, with ideal figures and restrained expressions that together created a harmonious effect and appealed to the intellect. Classical sculptures are often nude to convey heroes, deities, or semidivine beings. It is a style that is sometimes called “heroic” nudity or “ideal” nudity.
Thorvaldsen first learned of Roman classicism in Denmark from his teachers: the sculptor Johannes Wiedewelt and the painter Nicolai Abildgaard at The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen. Thorvaldsen’s flair for drawing had led him to start training at the academy when he was just 11 years old.
Thorvaldsen grew up watching and helping his father, an artist and woodcarver, create ship ornaments. He continued to help him at the shipyard as he studied at the academy.
When one of his tutors, Abildgaard, led the decoration of Levetzau’s Palace (now known as Christian VIII’s Palace) at Amalienborg, he put Thorvaldsen in charge of the sculpture. Thorvaldsen made his first full-figure statues at the palace. They were of two Greek muses: “Euterpe” (the goddess of lyric poetry) and “Terpsichore” (the goddess of dance and chorus).
Faith and Hope in Rome
But it was in Rome that he excelled. Thorvaldsen connected with Danish archaeologist Georg Zoega, who taught him about ancient art, Danish-German painter Asmus Jacob Carstens, and Austrian painter Joseph Anton Koch who had a lasting influence on his work. For his “Jason With the Golden Fleece” sculpture, Thorvaldsen used a motif from one of Carstens’s compositions. Thorvaldsen was also influenced by the ancient Roman “Apollo Belvedere” by Leochares, and the ancient Greek “Doryphoros” (“The Spear Bearer”) by Polykleitos.Thorvaldsen made his “Jason” in plaster. Sculptors working in the late 18th century made preparatory plaster models. Canova introduced the practice, and Thorvaldsen used it to great effect. Creating plaster models meant that sculptors could play with their designs rather than being constrained by patrons’ requests when sculpting in costly bronze and marble.
According to the Thorvaldsens Museum, most of Thorvaldsen’s works are reflective, introspective pieces, but this early Roman piece of the Greek mythological prince Jason differs. The sculpture shows Jason’s will and is a more actively engaging piece—extroverted, if you like—bringing the viewer into the space.
He wears a strophium (headband) that tames his curls and which traditionally signifies that he’s a god or king. Jason’s pose almost mirrors the top half of the “Apollo Belvedere,” except that Jason’s left arm is by his side and draped with the golden fleece. Thorvaldsen depicted Jason in contrapposto pose, balancing most of his weight on one leg, and it appears that he copied this pose from the “Doryphoros.” Another similarity is that Doryphoros originally carried a spear over his left shoulder, as Jason carries one over his right shoulder.
Thorvaldsen depicts the point when Jason returns home. He’s had an arduous journey, overcome many challenges, and he’s fought the dragon to get the golden fleece. Here, he returns with the fleece to regain the throne that his uncle took from Jason’s father. The fleece had the ability to protect the country’s wealth and fertility.
“Jason and the Golden Fleece” was the masterpiece that made Thorvaldsen more known, and without it he may have left Rome much earlier. In 1803, he was all set to sail home. His scholarship money had run out and his work was slow to sell. But the wealthy English art patron Thomas Hope commissioned him to make the sculpture in marble. A lithograph by Thorvald Jensen shows a morose Thorvaldsen sitting in his studio, with his “Jason and the Golden Fleece” sculpture behind him, unaware that the cloaked figure of Thomas Hope has just walked through the door to offer him a commission. Hope’s fame bought Thorvaldsen success and kept him in Rome, for 40 years in all.
One of Thorvaldsen’s most interesting commissions is the “Dying Lion” monument at Lucerne in Switzerland, which is carved into a cliff, to commemorate the Swiss guards who died in the French Revolution defending the Tuileries (the royal residence in Paris). A Swiss guard who had been on leave at the time of the attack commissioned the piece. He wanted a dead lion on a pile of weapons with the French royal coat of arms and the Swiss flag, to show the loyalty and bravery of the 600 colleagues who died. Thorvaldsen refused to create a dead lion, choosing instead to design a lion taking its last breath, resting on a shield with the fleur-de-lis emblems of French royalty. Thorvaldsen made the bronze model for the work, and the stone carving was made true to his design by another sculptor.
If Thorvaldsen’s name wasn’t familiar to you, his works may be, especially his sculpture of the resurrected Christ. It’s a powerful work, showing Christ’s compassion and the sacrifice he made. Christ looks to the ground while showing us the wounds on his hands and feet. Thorvaldsen depicted Christ as if he’s gently walking among us, showing us the rewards of faith in the face of suffering.
The sculpture was made for the Castle Church at Christiansborg Palace, along with statues of the 12 apostles, but it was moved to the high altar of the Church of Our Lady. Copies of the statue have been made across the world.
Thorvaldsen left all his works, including his plaster molds and his art collection, to the Danish people in a museum that he and the public funded for the purpose. He’s buried onsite under a bed of roses, at his request.
