Bertel Thorvaldsen

Lore & Background

Thorvaldsen was born in Copenhagen into a working-class family. His father, an Icelander, was a wood-carver at a shipyard, which influenced his son's career. At age eleven, Thorvaldsen was admitted to the Royal Danish Academy of Art, where he won many honors and medals. In 1797, he traveled to Rome on a royal stipend, arriving on 8 March, which he celebrated as his 'Roman birthday' for the rest of his life.

In Rome, Thorvaldsen maintained a large workshop and worked in a heroic neo-classicist style. His first major success was a model for a statue of Jason, praised by Antonio Canova. He received a commission for the marble Jason from Thomas Hope in 1803, which secured his career. He never left Italy for sixteen years, producing works such as the statues of Christ and the Twelve Apostles for Vor Frue Kirke in Copenhagen, completed in 1838.

Thorvaldsen returned to Denmark in 1838 as a national hero. The Thorvaldsen Museum was built next to Christiansborg Palace to house his works. He died suddenly from a heart attack at the Copenhagen Royal Theatre in 1844 and is buried in the museum's courtyard under a bed of roses.

Reader's Guide

Thorvaldsen was an outstanding representative of the Neoclassical period in sculpture, often compared to Antonio Canova. His work is noted for its stiff, formal poses and direct imitation of classical Greek art. He believed that only through imitation of classical pieces could one become a truly great artist. His motifs were drawn mostly from Greek mythology and classic art. His patrons resided all over Europe, and his public monuments include statues of Nicolaus Copernicus and Józef Poniatowski in Warsaw, Maximilian I in Munich, and the tomb of Pope Pius VII in St. Peter's Basilica—the only work by a non-Catholic in that basilica. The Thorvaldsen Museum in Copenhagen, which he endowed, holds his collection and models. His legacy endures as a central figure in Neoclassical sculpture, though his work is considered more rigid than Canova's.

Did You Know?

• Thorvaldsen celebrated 8 March 1797 as his 'Roman birthday' because his actual birth date was never recorded.
• He was the only non-Catholic artist commissioned to produce a work for St. Peter's Basilica: the tomb monument of Pope Pius VII.
• His father was an Icelander who worked as a wood-carver at a shipyard, influencing Thorvaldsen's career.
• Thorvaldsen claimed descent from Snorri Thorfinnsson, the first European born in America.