J.C. Dahl
Dresden
Bertel Thorvaldsen
Rom
Udskrift: S: T: / Hr. Prof: Albert Thorvaldsen / in / Rom
Dateringen fremgår af brevet.
Dahl asks Thorvaldsen to find work for Carl Wagner and Ernst Oehme, who are coming to Rome. He also comments on Eckersberg’s historical painting for the throne room at Christiansborg and on painting in Denmark generally.
Dresden d. 22 July 1822.
Min kiære Thorwaldsen!
De undskylder at jeg igienI tager mig den Friehed, at anbefale Dem, Overbringeren heraf, en ung tallentsfuld Landskabsmaler Hr C. WagnerII, der tillige var en SkolarIII hos mig inden jeg selv tog til ItalienIV. Jeg troer dersom han ej forfalder til det almindelige tørre og stive, som GjetslövV og flere synes at ansee for HovedsagenVI, velVII der vestVIII blive noget af hamIX. – En anden Eleve af mig Hr ÖhmeX velXI ogsaa snart komme efter ham, men denne er ogsaa af de mere tørre Natur=Efterlignere, og synes at have mindre Tallent enXII WagenerXIII. Som oven mældt, beder jeg om muelig at tage Dem lidt af dem dHr. Den førsteXIV har understøttelse af Prindsen af MeiningenXV, og ÖhmeXVI af Kronprindsen af Sawen Saxen.XVII –Nu Hvad mig selv anbetræffer, befinder jeg mig med det gamle ihenseende til Ansættelsen og bestemt LønXVIII, og anholder aldrig derom, især da jeg har fuldt op af [at] bestille, Min KoneXIX har lagt i Barselseng og befinder sig med DatterXX ret vel, uagtet, det har været meget slemt, og jeg frøgtedeXXI meget at miste alt. – Jeg beder Dem at hilse Prof: BrøndstedXXII, FreundXXIII og andre bekiendte der endnu erindrer sig mig i RomXXIV. – Jeg haaber for Fremtiden ikke oftere at bebyrde Dem mine Anbefalinger med SkolarerXXV, thi jeg antager mig ingen, og finder det bedre saa – Hr v. PreuschXXVI er her igienXXVII og har bragt under noget maadeligt ogsaa enkelte gode Ting. – Det synes som om han har vilde agere en Konstg[xxt] Konstdommer og troede at alle skulle søge ham om at blive anbefalet især ved Hoffet. – Men Jeg har givet ham at forstaae at han forstaar mindre af hvad Konst er, nu han kommer tilbage, end da han reiste bort, thi dengang var han dog LiebhaberXXVIII. Taler De [med] GjetslövXXIX saa sig ham at han ikke maae bryde sig om hansXXX Breve og Kritikker men handle efter egen FølelseXXXI – dog imod mig har han aldrig yttret noget i den FaldXXXII.
Jeg har for nogen Tid siden haft Brev fra vor [f]ellesXXXIII Ven Hr EckersbergXXXIV (thi vi vexleXXXV breve med hinanden af og til), – hans sidste store MalerieXXXVI til ThronsalenXXXVII skal efter fleres sigelseXXXVIII være udmærket godt og vandt paa forrige UdstillingXXXIX almindeligt BiefaldXL. – I øvrigt troer jeg at foruden de 4 store Malerier til SlottetXLI hvoraf 2 er færdigeXLII – er kun PortraiterXLIII det der gives for ham, skade at han er paa et saadant stedXLIV, hvad kunne han ikke bringe Verden om han havde Leilighed. Landskabsmaler Möll[e]rXLV untagen, troer jeg at der i Dannemark maaskee indtetXLVI gives at bestille, fraregnet de Bestillinger Regieringen har givet enkelte. – Med v. PreuschXLVII havde jeg vendtetXLVIII at erholdeXLIX nogle LindierL fra Prof: BrøndstedLI, dog jeg kan tænke, mig det gaaer andre som mig, jeg skriver ikke gierneLII Breve, duer heller ei dertilLIII. Jeg har endnu ikke opgivet Haabet at giøre en Nordisk=ReiseLIV – og skal da ikke forglæmme mit LøfteLV til Dem. – Jeg beder Dem have mig i Venskabel:LVI Erindring som en oprigtig Ven
J. Dahl –
Dresden, July 22nd 1822.
My dear Thorvaldsen,
You must excuse that again I take the liberty to commend to you the bearer of this, a young gifted landscape painter Mr C. Wagner who also was my pupil before I went to Italy. I think that if he does not fall into the general dry and formal mode, which Gjetslöv and others seem to consider most important he is sure to succeed. Another of my pupils Mr Öhme will also soon follow him, but he is one of the dry imitators of nature, and seems to be less talented than Wagner. As written above I ask you, if possible, to take some care of the gentlemen. The first one is supported by the Prince of Meiningen and Öhme by the Crown Prince of Saxony. –
Now as for my part my situation is the same as regards an appointment and fixed pay and I shall never apply for it, especially as I have a lot to do. My wife has been in childbed and is well together with her daughter though it was very hard and I was afraid of losing everything. – Please give my regards to professor Brøndsted, Freund and other persons who still remember me in Rome. – I hope not to bother you in the future with my recommendations of pupils, as I accept none, and find that a good thing.– Mr v. Preusch is again here and among some indifferent works he has also brought some good things.– He seems to have wanted to act as Konstgxx a critic and thought that everybody would ask him to be recommended especially at court.– But I have made him realize that he understands less of what art is now when he has returned, than when he left, as he then was an amateur. If you speak to Gjetslöv tell him not to mind his letters and criticism but to act on his own inclination – but he has never said anything to me in that respect.
Some time ago I had a letter from our mutual friend Mr Eckersberg (now and then we exchange letters) – according to the opinions of several his latest large painting for the throne room is to be very good and has met with general approval.- Furthermore I think that beside the 4 large paintings for the Palace of which 2 have been finished – there are only portraits left for him, it is a pity that he is in this place, what would he not be able to produce if he had the opportunity. Except for landscape painter Möller, I think that there is nothing to do in Denmark apart from the commissions from the government to individuals.– I had expected to receive a couple of lines with v. Preusch from professor Brøndsted, but I imagine that it is with others as with me, I do not like writing letters, and am not good at it. I still have not given up hope about a northern journey – and shall not then forget my promise to you.– I ask you to remember me as a sincere friend,
J. Dahl –
[Translated by Karen Husum]
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Indsejlingen til København, 1830, inv.nr. B187 |
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J.C. Dahl, maj 1821, inv.nr. A229 |
Last updated 13.11.2017
28.8.1821 Dahl wrote to Thorvaldsen to ask if he could look after the painter Carl Wilhelm Götzloff, who had also studied under Dahl in Dresden.
I.e. the German painter Carl Wagner.
Dvs. elev jf. Ordbog over det Danske Sprog.
Cf. chronology.
I.e. the German landscape painter Carl Wilhelm Götzloff.
Dahl thinks it important that a painter has studied nature very carefully, but that he does not merely reproduce these neutral observations. Instead, he has to understand the spirit of nature, and Dahl even talks about the painting as a poem that the painter finds in nature.
This view contrasts with the “dry and stiff” way of painting that e.g. Götzloff, according to Dahl, tended to favour, cf. Bang, op. cit.
Dvs. vil.
Dvs. vist.
I.e. the German landscape painter Carl Wilhelm Götzloff.
I.e. the German painter Ernst Oehme.
Dvs. vil.
Dvs. end.
I.e. the German painter Carl Wagner.
I.e. the German painter Carl Wagner.
Probably Bernhard II Erich Freund Duke of Saxe-Meiningen (1800-1882).
See Wagner’s article in Deutsche Biographie.
I.e. the German painter Ernst Oehme.
I.e. Frederik August II of Saxony (1797-1854).
The support is documented in Hans Joachim Neidhardt: ˋErnst Ferdinand Oehmeˊ, in Neue Deutsche Biographie.
Dahl was not appointed professor extraordinary at the Academy of Fine Arts in Dresden till 1824. Until then, he was loosely affiliated and took on pupils who sought him out on their own initiative, cf. Bang, op. cit.
I.e. Dorothea Franzisca Friederike Emilie von Bloch (1801–1827).
I.e. Dahl’s first child, Caroline Elisabeth Bull (Dahl) (1822-18??).
Dvs. frygtede.
I.e. the Danish archaeologist P.O. Brøndsted.
I.e. the Danish sculptor Hermann Ernst Freund.
Read more about Dahl’s two visits to Rome in his biography.
Dvs. elever, jf. Ordbog over det Danske Sprog.
I.e. the German court official Friedrich Heinrich Wilhelm von Preuß (17??-18??).
Cf. Friedrich Noack: Das Deutschtum in Rom, vol. 2, Berlin and Leipzig 1927, p. 462.
I.e. in Dresden. Preuß travelled with Götzloff to Rome in 1821, cf. letter dated 28.8.1821.
Ordet “Liebhaver” er formentlig brugt i betydningen dilettant eller amatør, jf. Ordbog over det danske Sprog. og Dahl hentyder nok til, at Preuß, inden sin rejse til Rom, var fri og mere uspoleret og bredt interesseret i kunst.
I.e. the German landscape painter Carl Wilhelm Götzloff.
I.e. the German court official Friedrich Heinrich Wilhelm von Preuß (17??-18??).
Cf. Friedrich Noack: Das Deutschtum in Rom, vol. 2, Berlin and Leipzig 1927, p. 462.
Dahl is known for not having created his own school; on the contrary, he felt strongly about artistic freedom, in the widest possible sense, and the individuality of his pupils.
Thorvaldsen agreed complete with Dahl. This freedom was part of the spirit of the time – see his encouraging words to H.C. Andersen in letter dated 8.1.1834 or the article A Free Man. Thorvaldsen’s Continuance in Rome.
Dvs. henseende eller retning jf. Ordbog over det danske Sprog.
Dvs. fælles.
I.e. the Danish painter C.W. Eckersberg.
Dvs. veksle jf. Ordbog over det danske Sprog,
I.e Hans Adolf of Gottorp Refusing the Danish Crown and Recommending his Nephew Count Christian of Oldenborg, 1821, Olie on canvas, Christiansborg Palace, cf. Hannover.
Exhibited at Charlottenborg, 1822. See Fortegnelse over de ved det Kongelige Academie for de skiönne Kunster udstillede Kunstsager, Copenhagen 1822. kat.nr. 7.
See the related article about Commission for Christiansborg Palace. A list of the historical paintings in the throne room can be found in Eckersberg’s biography.
Dvs. udsagn, jf. Ordbog over det danske Sprog.
Cf. Fortegnelse over de ved det Kongelige Academie for de skiönne Kunster udstillede Kunstsager, Copenhagen 1822, kat.nr. 7.
Dvs. bifald, jf. Ordbog over det danske Sprog.
See the related article about Commission for Christiansborg Palace. A list of the historical paintings in the throne room can be found in Eckersberg’s biography.
Dahl is probably referring to the paintings:
It is not completely certain that the painting of Christian I was finished in 1822. The painting was criticized at the time, and Eckersberg changed the subject several times, according to Hornung & Monrad, op. cit. Dahl may be thinking of an earlier “finished” version of the same work.
Cf. Hornung & Monrad: C.W. Eckersberg – dansk malerkunsts fader, Copenhagen 2005, p. 181.
Dvs. portrætter, jf. Ordbog over det danske Sprog.
I.e. in Denmark. In 1818, C.W. Eckersberg was appointed professor at the “Academy of Fine Arts, Copenhagen”:/personer/kunstakademiet, and moved into Charlottenborg, where he lived and worked for the next 35 years.
I.e. the Danish landscape painter J. P. Møller.
Dvs. intet.
I.e. the German court official Friedrich Heinrich Wilhelm von Preuß (17??-18??).
Cf. Friedrich Noack: Das Deutschtum in Rom, vol. 2, Berlin and Leipzig 1927, p. 462.
Dvs. ventet.
Dvs. få, jf. Ordbog over det danske Sprog.
Dvs. linjer.
I.e. the Danish archaeologist P.O. Brøndsted.
Dvs. gerne.
See the article Thorvaldsen’s Spoken and Written Language, which confirms that Thorvaldsen did not like to write letters etc., either.
Dahl did not visit Norway again until 1826.
Cf. Petra Kuhlmann-Hodick: ˋEfter Københavneråreneˊ, in: William Gelius & Stig Miss (red.): J.C. Dahl i Danmark, Copenhagen 2003, p. 55.
Thorvaldsen had modelled Dahl’s bust, A229, in May 1821 He had also promised Dahl a marble version of the bust, and in return Dahl was going to give him a landscape, see letter dated 28.8.1821.
Dvs. venskabelig.