Prices

The lists below provide an overview of sample prices for Thorvaldsen’s works throughout his career. The samples used are mainly of works in marble.
The lists are organized by the following categories of artworks:

• Statues
• Reliefs and friezes
• Larger commissions
• Portrait busts
• Busts carved after classical models
• Plaster casts

As a matter of course, the prices of Thorvaldsen’s sculptures were proportional to their size. These proportional calculations were made on an entirely concrete basis: namely, the costs of materials and production were combined to yield a basic sum, which was then adjusted to the size of the artwork at issue. Thorvaldsen described the principles he used for calculating prices in a letter dated 18.6.1806, from Rome to Denmark, containing a list of prices for his various types of artworks.
For statues, Thorvaldsen’s prices were based closely on the Roman palmi, a unit of length. 1 palmo corresponded to about nine inches, or 22.3 cm; on this see the Related Article on Weights and Measures. The taller a statue was, the higher its price. On the other hand, the increase in a statue’s price was not necessarily directly proportional to its height, as a statue also grows in width and depth when it becomes taller. For example: in 1806, a Thorvaldsen statue with a height of 6 palmi cost 600 scudi, while one of 10 palmi—that is, not even twice as tall—cost more than three times as much, namely, 2000 scudi.
For reliefs, the price was determined first by the number of main figures in the scene to be depicted, and then by how tall the figures and the relief as a whole were to be. The relief Briseis and Achilles, cf. A490, which Thorvaldsen had sold in marble to Theodor von der Ropp in 1805, cost a total of 550 scudi, i.e., 110 scudi per figure of ca. 4½ palmi each.
For larger commissions, the price was set following a concrete estimate. Busts appear to have been divided into two main price categories: those in “slightly more than life-size,” as it was then called, i.e., ca. 50-60 cm tall, and those in colossal size, i.e., 70-80 cm tall.

With regard to Thorvaldsen’s personal income, he would ordinarily charge the same amount for himself as he did for the costs of materials and production, so that he took home ca. 50% of the work’s total sales price. On this see the Related Article Thorvaldsen’s Works, Setting Prices.

As a rule, Thorvaldsen set his prices in the Roman currency scudi; on this see the Related Article Monetary Units.

Finally, payment was normally agreed to be made in installments. On this see the Related Article Thorvaldsen’s Works, Payment in Installments.

Price increases

The prices for Thorvaldsen’s works rose in tandem with the sculptor’s growing fame. An increase is already evident between his earliest commissions, in 1803, and the price list that he produced in 1806. As is evident from the lists below, Jason, at a height of 11 palmi, cost 1320 scudi in 1803, while a statue of only 10 palmi in height would have fetched 2000 scudi in 1806. In 1818, the merely (ca.) 8 palmi tall Maria Fjodorovna Barjatinskaja cost 3000 scudi.
A statue of 6 palmi in height cost 400 scudi in 1804, 600 scudi in 1808, and 800 scudi in 1809. A similar price increase can also be observed for Thorvaldsen’s reliefs, as can be seen in the examples below.

Nevertheless, by comparison with the prices for Antonio Canova’s sculptures, Thorvaldsen’s artworks were quite cheap. According to a letter dated 30.1.1807 from Thorvaldsen’s friend C.F. Høyer, Canova received 36,000 scudi in 1807 for four marble statues of 8 palmi in height, i.e., 9,000 scudi/statue. In 1806, Thorvaldsen accepted 1,000 scudi for a similar statue—so Canova was nine times as expensive as Thorvaldsen at that point.

Statues

Year	Work	Price	Size	Notes	Sources
1803	Jason, A822	1320 scudi	242 cm = 11 palmi		Contract dated ca. 21.3.1803
1804	Cupid and Psyche, cf. A28	800 piastre (= ca. 800 scudi)	134.5 cm = “palmi Sei Romani” [six Roman palmi]	Part of Vorontsova’s Commission	Contract dated February 1804
1804	Bacchus, cf. A2	400 piastre (= ca. 400 scudi)	140 cm = “palmi Sei Romani” [six Roman palmi]	Part of Vorontsova’s Commission	Contract dated February 1804
1804	Ganymede, cf. A41	400 piastre (= ca. 400 scudi)	135.7 cm = “palmi Sei Romani” [six Roman palmi]	Part of Vorontsova’s Commission	Contract dated February 1804
1804	Apollo, cf. A3	400 scudi	144 cm = “palmi Sei Romani” [six Roman palmi]	Part of Vorontsova’s Commission	Letter dated 5.3.1804
1804	Venus, cf. A12	400 scudi	ca. 133 cm = “palmi Sei Romani” [six Roman palmi]	Part of Vorontsova’s Commission	Letter dated 5.3.1804
1805	Venus, cf. A12	400 scudi	ca. 133 cm = 6 palmi	Part of Ropp’s Commission	List probably dated 30.12.1810
1806	Hebe, cf. A37	600 scudi	153 cm = “sex til syv Romerske Palmer” [six to seven Roman palmi]	Otto Reedtz-Thott’s Commission of Hebe, 1806	Contract dated 26.5.1806
1806	A standard statue	600 scudi	133.8 cm = “6 Palmers Høide” [six palmi in height]	From Thorvaldsen’s general price list	Letter dated 18.6.1806
1806	A standard statue	800 scudi	156.1 cm = “7 Palmers Høide” [seven palmi in height]	From Thorvaldsen’s general price list	Letter dated 18.6.1806
1806	A standard statue	1,000 scudi	178.4 cm = “8 Palmers Høide” [eight palmi in height]	From Thorvaldsen’s general price list	Letter dated 18.6.1806
1806	A standard statue	2,000 scudi	223 cm = “10 Palmers Høide” [ten palmi in height]	From Thorvaldsen’s general price list	Letter dated 18.6.1806
1809	Psyche, cf. A26	600 piastre (= ca. 600 scudi)	131.7 cm / “2 Al: 4 tom” [2 ells, 4 inches]	From the price list sent by Thorvaldsen to the Building Commission for Christiansborg Palace	Letter dated 4.2.1809
1809	Venus, cf. A12	500 piastre (= ca. 500 scudi)	ca. 130 cm / “2 Al: 4 tom” [2 ells, 4 inches]	From the price list sent by Thorvaldsen to the Building Commission for Christiansborg Palace	Letter dated 4.2.1809
1809	Cupid and Psyche, cf. A28	1000 piastre (= ca. 1000 scudi)	134.5 cm = “2 Al: 3 tom” [2 ells, 3 inches]	From the price list sent by Thorvaldsen to the Building Commission for Christiansborg Palace	Letter dated 4.2.1809
1809	Cupid Holding a Butterfly	800 scudi	6 palmi	Commissioned by Theodor von Hahn	Contract dated 20.8.1809
1812	Caryatid, A55 and Caryatid, A56, plus plinths etc.	1000 scudi each	203.6 cm and 202.5 cm, respectively = ca. 9 palmi	For a monument to Napoleon in Poland	Contract dated 23.12.1812
1818	Maria Fjodorovna Barjatinskaja, A171	3000 scudi	Ca. 8 palmi = 181 cm, “Grandeur naturelle” [natural size]		Contract dated 4.8.1818
1823	Shepherd Boy, cf. A177	2000 scudi	148,5 cm	Commissioned by Franz Erwein Damian Joseph von Schönborn-Wiesentheid	Letter dated 25.1.1823
1828	Cupid with his Bow, cf. A819	100 “Luigi d’oro” [Louis d’or]	4.5 palmi = 100.3 cm	For Michael Shaw Stewart	Receipt dated 17.4.1828

Reliefs and friezes

Year	Work	Price	Size	Notes	Sources
1805	Briseis and Achilles, cf. A490	550 scudi / 110 scudi per figure	116×236.5 cm, 5 figures each of ca. 4½ palmi in height	Part of Ropp’s Commission	List probably dated 30.12.1810
1806	A standard relief	100 scudi per main figure	Each main figure 2½ palmi / 55,75 cm in height	“I Basrelief koster hver Hovedfigur som er 2 1/2 Palme 100 Scudi” [In bas-relief, each main figure, at 2½ palmi in height, costs 100 scudi]: From Thorvaldsen’s general price list	Letter dated 18.6.1806
1808	Hector with Paris and Helen, cf. A499	255 scudi / 85 scudi per figure	3×4 palmi = 67×89 cm / 3 figures	De Balck’s commission, which had originally been for a different motif	Contract dated 16.4.1808 Letter presumably from October 1810
1811	Monument to Auguste Böhmer, A701, A702, A703	At least 150 carolins = ca. 600 scudi	77.6×45.7 cm / 1 figure, 77.5×63 cm / 2 figures, 77.5×45 cm / 1 figure		Letter dated 18.8.1811 Letter dated 25.2.1812 Letter dated 24.9.1814
1813	Monument to Johann Philipp Bethmann-Holweg, A615,1 A615,2, and A615,3	900 scudi	90×140 cm / 3 figures 89.5×93.5 cm / 3 figures 90×97.5 cm / 2 figures		Contract dated 25.5.1813
1818	Christ Assigns the Leadership of the Church to Saint Peter, A565	1100 “in moneta d’Oro, ed’Argento” [in coins of gold and silver]	62.5×179.5 cm / 12 figures		Contract dated 15.12.1818
1818	Monument to Stanislaus Chaudoir’s Wife, cf. A624	1000 scudi	122,5×96,0 cm / 2 figures		Contract dated 12.6.1818
1819	Night, cf. A369, og Day, cf. A370	500 scudi for both	80 cm (diameter) / 2-3 figures in each relief	The commission was never prompted	Letter dated 21.12.1818 Letter dated 13.2.1819
1823	Cupid with a Swan and Boys picking Fruit, Summer, cf. A411, and	200 scudi	52,2×69,5 cm	Commissioned by Franz Erwein Damian Joseph von Schönborn-Wiesentheid	Letter dated 25.1.1823
1823	Cupid and Bacchus, Autumn, cf. A413	200 scudi	50×69 cm	Commissioned by Franz Erwein Damian Joseph von Schönborn-Wiesentheid	Letter dated 25.1.1823
1835	Monument to the two Poninski children, cf. A616	2000 scudi	172×240 cm / 4 figures		Contract dated 27.4.1835

Larger commissions

Year	Work	Price	Size	Notes	Sources
1817-18	Józef Poniatowski, cf. A123	12,000 scudi (reportedly equivalent to 3,000 sequiner)	463 cm	According to Lord Minto’s diary, entry dated 7.1.1822, Thorvaldsen told him that he had received 3,000 sequins for the equestrian statue. The 1818 contract, however, lists only the payment in scudi.	Contract dated 8.7.1818 Letter dated 15.5.1817
1818	Dying Lion (The Lucerne Lion), cf. A119, and see the completed work(Dying Lion (The Lucerne Lion), Lucerne, Switzerland)	300 scudi	84×161 cm	The price was considered very low, and the assignment a special one, as Thorvaldsen was only supposed to deliver the plaster model, and not be responsible for the much larger completed version of the statue.	Letters dated 8.8.1818 and 7.9.1818
1820	Nicolaus Copernicus, cf. A113	2,000 “ducats hollandois” [ducats of the Netherlands]	277.2 cm		Contract dated 30.9.1820
1825	Monument to Eugène de Beauharnais, cf. A156, and see the completed work	16,000 “Piastre Romane” [Roman piasters]	Four figures in all; the main figure: 275 cm = ca. 12.3 palmi, two reliefs, and the architectural frame		Contract dated 8.2.1825
1831	Maximilian 1., cf. A128, and see the completed work	9000 scudi	522.5 cm		Contract dated 27.2.1830

Portrait busts

Year	Work	Price	Size	Notes	Sources
1804	Ivan Vorontsov?, A302	Presumably 200 scudi	53 cm	Part of Vorontsova’s Commission	Contract dated February 1804
1804	Ivanovna Golitsyna, A304	Presumably 200 scudi	73 cm	Part of Vorontsova’s Commission	Contract dated February 1804
1805- 1806	Jacob Baden, A863	200 rigsdaler = ca. 50 ducats, reportedly equivalent to ca. 100 scudi: half the normal price, according to Thorvaldsen	54.8 cm	Thorvaldsen: “jeg faaer 100 Dukater for et Protrait lidt over naturlig Størrelse, og troer ikke at kunde giøre dette ringere ensom 200r Dansk, som bliver lidet over det halv af hvad jeg ellers faaer, da vor Kurs staaer saa slet” [I fetch 100 ducats for a portrait a little larger than natural size, and do not think I can produce it any more cheaply than for 200 Danish r[igsdaler], which is a little more than half of what I normally receive, as our exchange rate is so poor]	Letter dated 29.12.1804 Letter dated 28.7.1805
1806	A standard bust	200 scudi	“lidet over naturlig Størrelse” [a little larger than natural size]	From Thorvaldsen’s general price list	Letter dated 18.6.1806 Letter dated 18.11.1806
1807	Henrik Hielmstierne, A210	200 scudi	53.7 cm = “lidet over naturlig Størrelse” [a little larger than natural size]		Letter dated 20.5.1807
1807	Jacob Laurids Thrane, Dep.36	100 scudi	58.5 cm	Thrane received his bust at a special price for friends, “half” the normal price.	Letter dated after 6.6.1807
1823	Busts carved by Thorvaldsen and sold without a discount	100 Louis d’or	Unknown	From Thorvaldsen’s general description of his prices	Draft letter dated 29.4.1823

Busts carved after classical models

Year	Work	Price	Size	Notes	Sources
1804- 1810	Jupiter	100 scudi	80 cm = colossal bust	Part of Ropp’s Commission	List probably dated 30.12.1810
1804- 1810	Apollo Belvedere	60 scudi	74 cm	Part of Ropp’s Commission	List probably dated 30.12.1810
1804- 1810	Bacchus	60 scudi	72.3 cm	Part of Ropp’s Commission	List probably dated 30.12.1810
1804- 1810	Melpomene	50 scudi	66 cm	Part of Ropp’s Commission	List probably dated 30.12.1810
1804- 1810	Homer, cf. A751	60 scudi	64 cm, presumably similar to A751 + pedestal	Part of Ropp’s Commission	List probably dated 30.12.1810
1804- 1810	Cicero	50 scudi	56.5 cm	Part of Ropp’s Commission	List probably dated 30.12.1810
1804- 1810	Venus	40 scudi	50.5 cm	Part of Ropps Commission	List probably dated 30.12.1810
1804- 1810	Sappho	50 scudi	51 cm	Part of Ropp’s Commission	List probably dated 30.12.1810
1806	A standard bust	60-100 scudi	“kolosalsk” [colossal]	From Thorvaldsen’s general price list	Letter dated 18.6.1806
1806	Socrates	60 scudi	49.7 cm	From Thorvaldsen’s general price list	Letter dated 18.6.1806 See also the Related Article Busts of Socrates and Apollo 1805-06
1806	Apollo Giustiniani	80 scudi	62 cm	From Thorvaldsen’s general price list	Letter dated 18.6.1806 See also the Related Article Busts of Socrates and Apollo 1805-06
1808	Homer, cf. A751	70 scudi	Presumably similar to A751 + pedestal, i.e., ca. 64 cm, like the Homer listed above	De Balck’s commission	Contract dated 16.4.1808 Letter presumably from October 1810

Plaster casts

Year	Work	Price	Size	Notes	Sources
1806	A standard statue	60 scudi for shaping the statue + 10 scudi for each casting	133.8 cm = “6 Palmer” [6 palmi]	From Thorvaldsen’s general price list	Letter dated 18.6.1806
1827	Christ, cf. A82, and the twelve apostles, cf. Peter, A86, Matthew, A87, John, A89, James the Less, A91, Philip, A93, Thomas, A96, James the Greater, A98, Bartholomew, A99, Simon Zelotes, A101, Paul, A103, Jude Thaddaeus, A105, and Andrew, A108	2,700 Roman scudi in total	–	–	Letter dated 10.4.1827 from the Building Commission for the Church of Our Lady, Copenhagen til Thorvaldsen

References

• Kira Kofoed: Thorvaldsens prisfastsættelse af egne værker, arkivet.thorvaldsensmuseum.dk, 2009.

Last updated 08.07.2018