Comment on Omkring 1.2.1804
It is not clear precisely which two busts Thorvaldsen is referring to. However, he is trying to answer the letter of 21.1.1804 from Schubart in which Schimmelmann’s letters were quoted. Here she first mentions the bust of A.P. Bernstorff, (1797, Brahetrolleborg, cf. A208), then the bust of Raphael, A752. After that she writes: “Now 3 Roman emperors remain…”, thus referring to Thorvaldsen’s marble busts of Agrippa, A759, and the two versions of Cicero, A760 and A761. Thorvaldsen may reasonably have regarded these three busts as just two, so it must be assumed that the sculptor is referring to this passage when he mentions the “two busts”.
He sent busts to Copenhagen on several occasions. See the related article about Transportation of Thorvaldsen’s Artworks to Copenhagen 1798 and 1802.
Last updated 28.04.2015