Bertel Thorvaldsen
Rom
Gotskalk Thorvaldsen
København
Udkastet er udateret, men det skal sandsynligvis dateres til slutningen af februar 1804 af to grunde: Udkastet er skrevet bag på et andet brevudkast til Abildgaard, som ganske vist også er udateret, men som er forlæg til Thorvaldsens brev af 25.2.1804.
Desuden omtaler Thorvaldsen her sin mors død, som han netop var blevet informeret om i Abildgaards brev af 17.1.1804.
Fragment of a draft in which Thorvaldsen tells his father that he has been ill, and that he has heard of his mother’s death from Nicolai Abildgaard. He wants to know who has supported his father.
Gode Fader!
Efter at have været SygI et hel aar og i al den tiid ikke har kundet arbede som har sat mig i end forfaning som er udbeskrivelig og da ieg nu var begynde at komme mig lidet faaer ieg de gruelige efterretningII forIII Justidsraad Abildgaard. hvorledes det gor Skriv mig dog tilIV, og lad mig hvide alt[,] nenv mig de der har giordt nogetV for DersVI Beste
Good Father,
After having been ill for an entire year and during all that time not having been able to work, which has put me in an indescribable condition, and now having begun to recover a little I receive awful news from Counsellor Abildgaard. How are things? Do write to me and let me know everything. Mention the people to me who have done something in your best interest.
[Translated by Karen Husum]
Thiele I, p. 212 doubts that this draft was ever finished and sent off. However, since Gotskalk Thorvaldsen in his letter of 20.10.1805 told his son who had done something for him – which is what Thorvaldsen is asking here – a letter must have reached Copenhagen.
One may wonder that this draft does not mention what must have been a terrible disappointment to his parents, i.e. his continuance in Rome, see e.g. the father’s reproof of
3.5.1803. However, the matter may have been touched on in the version of the letter that was sent off.
Last updated 21.04.2015
In 1803-04 Thorvaldsen suffered from hemorrhoids, which made him unable to work for quite a long time, see the related article about this.
Thorvaldsen’s teacher at the Academy of Fine Arts, the painter Nicolai Abildgaard informed him, in a letter of 17.1.1804, that his mother, Karen Thorvaldsen had died on 7.1.1804 and was buried in Nikolaj churchyard in Copenhagen.
Dvs. fra.
Thorvaldsen might very well wonder why his father had not written to tell him about the mother’s death. The previous letter from Gotskalk Thorvaldsen was dated 3.5.1803 and contained a strong reproof to his son because he was not returning to Copenhagen. It is possible that the father’s disappointment about this was the reason why he had not written. For more about this, see the related article Thorvaldsen’s Continuance in Rome 1803-04.
Gotskalk Thorvaldsen mentioned the people who had done something for him, but he only did this more than a year later in letter of 20.10.1805, see this.
Thorvaldsen addressed his father with the formal pronoun “De”, while Gotskalk Thorvaldsen used the familiar term “du” when addressing his son, as was customary at the time. See also the list of people who were On Familar Terms with Thorvaldsen.