Nicolai Abildgaard
København
Bertel Thorvaldsen
Rom
Ingen udskrift.
Dateringen fremgår af brevet.
Abildgaard informs Thorvaldsen that he will receive his salary as a professor of the Royal Academy only when present in Copenhagen. Abildgaard will see to it that money is transferred to Thorvaldsen for the purchase of books and as part of the payment for the bust of Jacob Baden, A863. He inquires about the price of the bust of Tyge Rothe, A225. He asks him to help C.F. Høyer.
Kiøbenhavn 14de Aug: 1806
Kiære Ven!
Først nu kan ieg besvare Deres senesteI min gode ærlige Ven. De har icke forstaaet Academiets BrevII rigtig, de 400rdIII som er Dem bestemte nyder De icke før De kommer Hiem, og intil den tid gaar de i Academiets Kasse for at raade boed paa hvad vi mangler, hvor gierne ieg havde ønsket De strax kunde hæve disse Penge, var det mig icke muligt, man maa liste sig gennem denne Verden, men naar der gives nogen leilighed skal ieg nok vaage for Deres vel der ligger mig om Hiertet.
Med forrige Post er der ved det Frøliske ComptorIV afgaaen Ordre at udbetale De[m] 80 Scudi for Museo Pio ClementinoV, da de fleste folk flacke omkring paa landet, har ieg for denne denne [sic] gang icke kundet udrette mere, men med det første skal De faa 100rd D.C.VI til avdrag paa Badens BüsteVII, som ieg saa gierne ønskede kunde være færdigVIII for at føres Hiem med det første Skib der til for aaret gaar til Dannemark da det nok er temmelig uvist at der gaar nogetIX i dette efteraaret. saa snart ieg kan faa fat paa RotheX skal ieg erindre om betalingen for Han[s] Faders BüsteXI, men ieg havde saa gierne ønsket De havde skreven mig hvad og hvormeget jeg skal kræveXII, imidlertid skal ieg giøre det saa got som muligt. Deres FaderXIII som nu lever lidt bedreXIV end forhen var hos mig for 8te Dage siden ieg var i byen, da ieg nu lever i mit lille Huus paa LandetXV; saalænge veiret vil tillade det. Tak for det det [sic] Blomster FrøeXVI ieg fik ved HøyerXVII, da han endnu er for nye i Rom til selv at udrette sligt indser ieg De har voren ham behielpelig, af de 8te forskielle sorter ieg fik ere de 7 opkomne, og har blomster. Høyer er et got ærligt Menniske uden Kneb, vær ham behielpeligXVIII i hvad De kan, ieg er vis paa han vil være taknemmelig, skade han er alt for frygtsom, hvad der kan udrettes ved fliid vil han opnaa, men De maa sætte lidt Mod og Dristighed i ham, og lad ham icke Pensle for længe paa een og samme ting. Nu reiser Hor[n]bekXIX hiem, De kunde nok give ham en lille tegningXX med til mig. lev nu vel min gode ærlige Ven og hils alle som vil hilses fra Deres
oprigtige Ven
Nic: Abildgaard
P.S. Deres BüsterXXI staar endnu hos mig.
Copenhagen, August 14th 1806
Dear friend,
Only now can I answer your latest letter, my good, honest friend. You have not understood the letter from the Academy correctly. The 400 rd intended for you, you will not receive until you return home, and until then the money will go to the cash box of the Academy to make good what we miss. Much as I should have wished for you immediately to be able to draw this money, it was not possible for me. One must walk carefully through this world, but whenever an opportunity shows I shall take care of your welfare, which is a matter I feel very deeply about.
An order was sent in the last mail from the Frølich Commercial Firm to pay you 80 Scudi for Museo Pio Clementino. Because most people are out in the country I have not been able to do more for this time. But soon you will receive 100 rd Danish currency as an instalment on the bust of Baden, which I so much wished could be finished to be sent home by the first ship, which goes to Denmark in spring, as it is rather uncertain that one will go this autumn. As soon as I can come across Rothe I shall remind him of the payment for his father’s bust, but I should very much have liked you to write to me how much I must demand; however, I shall do it as well as possible. Your father, who now is in a little better situation than he used to be, visited me; 8 days ago I was in town as I am now living in my small house in the country; as long as the weather permits. Thank you for the flower seeds I received from Høyer. As he is still too new in Rome to achieve such things I realize that you have helped him; of the 8 different sorts I received 7 have come up and are in bloom. Høyer is a good honest person without guile, help him when you can, I am sure he will be grateful. It is a pity that he is too timid, what can be done by diligence, he will achieve, but you must instill a little courage and boldness in him, and do not let him spend too much time on the same painting. Hornbek will now return home, you might give him a small drawing for me. Take care of yourself my good, honest friend and give my regards to those who would like them, Your
Sincere friend
Nic: Abildgaard
P.S. Your busts are still at my place.
[Translated by Karen Husum]
Even though Abildgaard did not die until 1809, this is the last existing letter from Abildgaard to Thorvaldsen.
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Jacob Baden, juni 1806 - september 1806, inv.nr. A863 |
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Tyge Rothe, juni 1797 - december 1797, inv.nr. A225 |
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Homer, 1799, inv.nr. A751 |
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Rafael, januar 1800 - oktober 1800, inv.nr. A752 |
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Agrippa, 1799 - 1800, inv.nr. A759 |
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Cicero, 1799 - 1800, inv.nr. A760 |
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Cicero, 1799 - 1800, inv.nr. A761 |
Last updated 12.02.2018
I.e. Thorvaldsen’s letter dated 18.6.1806.
I.e. the letter dated 15.6.1805 from the Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen with the appointment of Thorvaldsen to professor after Andreas Weidenhaupt.
It is not known how Abildgaard had got the idea, as indicated below, that Thorvaldsen wanted his salary as professor at the Academy to be paid. In Thorvaldsen’s previous letter he had not asked for his professor salary, to which he was not entitled so long as he stayed in Rome. He only mentioned other financial matters between himself and the Academy / Abildgaard.
In other words, Abildgaard misunderstood Thorvaldsen. The misunderstanding was corrected in Thorvaldsen’s next letter dated 23.9.1806.
I.e. the annual salary of 400 rix-dollars of professors at the Academy of Fine Arts.
I.e. the commercial firm of Frølich & Co., Copenhagen, which had managed the transfer of Thorvaldsen’s grant from Denmark to Italy, see letters 20.3.1802 and 23.9.1806.
Frølich is mentioned in Carl Bruun: Kjøbenhavn. En illustreret Skildring af dets Historie, Mindesmærker og Institutioner, Copenhagen 1901, vol. 3, p. 805 and 844.
Three volumes of the catalogue of the part of the Vatican collections in the so-called Museo Pio-Clementino, established by Clement XIV (1769-1774) and Pius VI (1775-1799). The title of the catalogue is: Il Museo Pio-Clementino, descritto da Giambattista e Ennio Qvirino Visconti, T. I-VI, Roma 1782-96, (copy in Thorvaldsens Museum, M134).
The first time Abildgaard asked for these catalogues was in his letter dated 3.12.1799. In his letter dated 18.6.1806, Thorvaldsen mentioned that he had paid the 80 scudi mentioned for the three volumes.
Thorvaldsen sent the catalogues to Copenhagen in 1802, see letter dated 20.3.1802 and the related article about Transportation of Thorvaldsen’s Artworks to Copenhagen 1798 and 1802.
I.e. 100 rix-dollars Danish currency, see the related article on Monetary Units.
Thorvaldsen’s bust of Jacob Baden, A863, commissioned by Abildgaard on behalf of Baden’s widow in the letter dated 29.12.1804. The 100 rix-dollars mentioned was an instalment on the price of the bust, which had been set at 200 rix-dollars, see letter dated 28.7.1805.
See also the related article about the prices of Thorvaldsen’ works.
The bust was actually finished quite quickly. Already in his next letter dated 23.9.1806, Thorvaldsen was able to report that the marble bust was ready for shipment. However, it took a long time before the bust was sent on to Copenhagen: It was not shipped until 1825, see letter dated “2.7.1825”:/dokumenter/m101825,nr.74.
Transportation by sea was probably made difficult by wars in Europe at the time.
I.e. the Danish lawyer Andreas Bjørn Rothe.
I.e. Thorvaldsen’s portrait bust of Tyge Rothe, A225.
Already in his letter dated 31.1.1805, Abildgaard had asked Thorvaldsen: “… how much is the bust of Rothe. I will then talk to his son about it to have it paid for…”. Thorvaldsen had answered in his letter dated
18.6.1806: Rothe’s bust “… you can sell for what you please, Sir …”. This answer was clearly a little too imprecise to Abildgaard, but Thorvaldsen did not mention the matter in his reply dated 23.9.1806. This may be the explanation why Thorvaldsen, as far as can be ascertained, never received any payment from the Rothe family.
After Thorvaldsen’s return to Denmark in 1838, however, Tyge Rothe’s son gave the bust to the sculptor.
I.e. Gotskalk Thorvaldsen
In 1805, Gotskalk Thorvaldsen had been admitted to the Vartov institution in Copenhagen. This gave him a certain financial stability, see the related article about this.
I.e. Spurveskjul [Sparrows’ hiding-place] near Frederiksdal north of Copenhagen. Abildgaard had had the house built after his own design 1804-05.
See C.F. Høyer’s letter dated 18.6.1806 to Abildgaard, in which he enclosed some flower seeds.
The Danish painter C.F. Høyer.
It is characteristic that Abildgaard asks Thorvaldsen to advise Høyer in both practical and artistic matters. As far as Thorvaldsen himself was concerned, Abildgaard did not give advice about art, but towards Høyer, Abildgaard was apparently far more pedagogical, as appears below and e.g. in the letter dated 18.6.1806, where Høyer thanks the professor for his good advice.
The Danish architect Christian Hornbech, who in the autumn of 1806 was on his way to Denmark via Milan and Paris, see letter dated 30.1.1807.
It is not known whether Thorvaldsen sent a drawing to his old teacher. The matter was not mentioned in Thorvaldsen’s reply dated 23.9.1806.
I.e. the marble busts Thorvaldsen had sent home in two consignments in 1798 and 1802: Tyge Rothe, A225; Homer, A751; Raphael, A752 Agrippa, A759; Cicero, A760 and Cicero, A761. Abildgaard’s remark about the busts still being at his place must be understood to mean that they had not yet been sold as Thorvaldsen had hoped, see e.g. his previous letter dated 18.6.1806.
See the related article regarding the transportation of these busts.