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Date Events Whereabouts Works
The 1820s Ganymede Offering the Cup, A854.
Presumably 1820 Youth with a Dog, A185, possibly a preparatory work for John the Baptist Preaching, (A59-A70), modelled 1821-1822 and placed as a pediment above the main entrance of The Church of Our Lady in Copenhagen (today remade in bronze).
Presumably 1820 Chimneypiece, A735.
Presumably 1820 The Cumaean Sibyl, A58.
Presumably 1820 The Erythraean Sibyl, A57.
Presumably 1820 Three Cupids, A592.
1820 The Baptism of Christ, A557.
1820 The Baptism of Christ, A730.
1820 The Institution of the Eucharist, A558.
1820 Three Hovering Angels, relief, plaster. Mounted as a frieze in the cupola of Christiansborg Palace Church, Copenhagen (cf. drawings: C221r and C222).
1820 Alexander 1., A246.
1820 Frederik 6., A859.
1820 Marie Sophie Frederikke, A860.
Not earlier than 1820 Caroline, A857.
1820 - 1821 Boy with a Dog, A76.
1820 - 1821 Reclining Shepherd, A79, preparatory model for A70.
1820 - 1821 Reclining Shepherd, A80, first preparatory model for A70.
1820 - 1821 Mother with her Son, A75.
1820 - 1821 Mother with her Child, A77, preparatory model for A69.
1820 - 1821 Mother with a Sleeping Child, A78, first preparatory model for A69.
1820 - 1821 Roman Warrior, A71.
1820 - 1821 Seated Jew, A72.
1820 - 1821 Seated Man, A81, preparatory model for A72.
1820 - 1821 Youth, A74, preparatory model for A60.
1820 - 1821 John the Baptist, A73, preparatory model for A59.
1820 - 1821 Caroline Amalie, A198.
1820 - 1821 Caroline Amalie, A754.
1820 - 1823 Cupid and the Graces, A894.
1820 - 1824 A small copy of Alexander the Great’s Entry into Babylon, cf. A503, is being executed as a cameo by Clemente Pestrini.
1820 - 1828 Shepherd Boy, cf. A177, marble, Draper’s Hall, London.
6.1.1820 Christian (8.) Frederik visits Thorvaldsen’s workshops in Vicolo delle Colonnette.
6.1.1820 Christian (8.) Frederik writes from Rome to Thorvaldsen in Copenhagen, requesting him to consider a funerary monument to Abildgaard.
6.1.1820 Commission for the building of the Church of Our Lady considers whether a statue of Christ, cf. A82, by Thorvaldsen can be placed in the Church of Our Lady instead of Christiansborg Palace Church.
15.2.1820 Godfather to Maria Liebenberg in Copenhagen.
Spring 1820 Visits Roskilde Cathedral and then appeals to Frederik 6. for the completion of C.F. Harsdorff’s chapel.
Presumably completed March 1820 Monument to Anthony James Radcliffe, cf. A622 og A740.
15.3.1820 Otto v. Huhn encourages Thorvaldsen to make a sketch for a monument to freedom in honour of Alexander 1. Thorvaldsen, however, does not make the monument.
Begun 28.3.1820 - completed 7.8.1821 Dying Lion (The Lucerne Lion), cf. A119, is carved from sandstone rock in Lucerne by Lucas Ahorn.
4.4.1820 The Baptism of Christ, cf. A557, and The Institution of the Eucharist, cf. A558, are commissioned in marble by a society represented by Adam Wilhelm Moltke and Nicolai Holten. Today in the Church of Our Lady, Copenhagen.
10.4.1820 Attends a farewell party for the poet C. Pram with Baggesen, Rahbek, Oehlenschläger, Ingemann, Jens Kragh Høst, and others.
20.4.1820 Thorvaldsen suggests Frederik 6. a drastic restructuring of some royal institutions, which among other things shall release some more space to the Academy’s collection of plaster casts of Thorvaldsen’s works.
22.4.1820 Frederik 6. approves the placement of a statue of Christ, cf. A82, by the altar in the Church of Our Lady in Copenhagen instead of an altarpiece by J.L. Lund.
May 1820 A series of sculptures for the Church of Our Lady, Copenhagen: Christ, cf. A82, and the pediment above the main entrance of the church John the Baptist Preaching, cf. A59-A70, and the 12 apostles, cf. A86-A109, are commissioned in plaster.
6.5.1820 Elected honorary member of Die Frankfurtische Gesellschaft zur Beförderung der nützlichen Kunste.
Not earlier than 11.5.1820 - not later than 12.8.1821 Shepherd Boy, cf. A177, for Christian 8.’s Table Decoration is cast by Wilhelm Hopfgarten.
23.5.1820 Is godfather to J.P. Mynster’s son, Christian Ludvig Nicolai Mynster (1820-1883), in the Church of Our Lady in Copenhagen.
Summer 1820 Christian Molbech spends three weeks in Rome, staying at the Casa Buti. Visits Thorvaldsen’s workshops.
Not earlier than 13.6. - not later than 17.6.1820 J.C. Dahl begins his journey from Dresden to Italy.
18.6.1820 Sulpiz Boisserée commissions a relief frieze for a monument to Goethe. The frieze, however, which was to depict Goethe’s poem Hermann and Dorothea, is never executed.
28.6.1820 Farewell party at The Royal Shooting Range with the participation of the authorities of Copenhagen.
7.7.1820 Borups Selskab (The Dramatic and Literary Society, Borup’s Society) gives a farewell party to Thorvaldsen before his departure to Italy. Two songs dedicated to Thorvaldsen are sung.
24.7. - 7.8.1820 J.C. Dahl’s first visit to Rome.

Lodgings at Caffè Greco, excursion to Tivoli, visits Thorvaldsen’s workshop and meets G.E. Freund, C.A. Jensen, C.C. Vogel, and others.

Not later than 10.8.1820 Peter Wilhelm Kolderup Rosenvinge, A915.
10.8.1820 Farewell audience with Frederik 6., who presents Thorvaldsen with a snuffbox with his portrait, N39.
11.8.1820 Departure af 2.30 p.m. from Copenhagen for Italy in the company of Simon Christian Pontoppidan.
A group of friends follows along to Roskilde Kro at Vridløselille.
11.8.1820 Stops in Køge and takes leave with C.F. Høyer and Christian Hornbech, who catch him by surprise there.
11.8.1820 Arrives in the evening at Gisselfeld Manor at the Danneskiold-Samsøe family.
12.8.1820 During his stay at Gisselfeld he attends the celebration of the betrothal of Louise Danneskiold-Samsøe and the Duke of Augustenborg Christian Carl Friedrich August.
13.8.1820 Louise Danneskiold-Samsøe, A216, is modelled at Gisselfeld.
13.8.1820 Arrives in the evening at Nysø Manor for the first time. Stays for the night.
14.8.1820 Conrad Danneskiold-Samsøe, A214, is modelled at Nordfeld.
14.8.1820 Arrives at Nordfeld Manor on the island of Møn. Stays overnight.
15.8.1820 Visits Liselund and presumably also a part of the Cliffs of Møn. Back to Nordfeld.
16.8.1820 Probably arrives at Klintholm invited by H.F.J. Estrup, and stays overnight.
17.8.1820 Visits the Cliffs of Møn accompanied by H.F.J. Estrup. Probably back to Nordfeld for the night.
18.8.1820 Leaves Nordfeld. Travels via Grønsund and the island of Falster to the manor Søholt at the town of Maribo. Stays with the von Bertouch family.
19.8.1820 At Søholt Manor.
20.8.1820 Banquet at Henning Wichfeld at Engestofte Manor. Later back to Søholt.
20.8.1820 Goes in the evening from Søholt to Pederstrup Manor to visit Christian Ditlev Reventlow for a couple of days.
21.8.1820 Visits bishop Peter Outzen Boisen (1762-1831) in Vesterborg and count Carl Ludvig Krag-Juel-Vind-Frijs (1780-1838) at Juellinge Manor (Halsted Kloster) in the company of Reventlow.
22.8.1820 At Pederstrup.
23.8.1820 From Pederstrup back to Søholt.
24.8.1820 From Søholt to Nysted in the evening. Crosses the Baltic Sea. After a violent storm the boat is rescued to Rostock by a couple of pilots.
25.8. - 26.8.1820 In Rostock, and sees the Monument to field marshal Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher by Johann Gottfried Schadow, inaugurated the year before 26.8.1819.
29.8.1820 Arrives in Berlin.
29.8. - 3.9.1820 Besøger både den Giustiniani’ske og Solly’ske malerisamling i Berlin i selskab med Aloys Hirt.
29.8. - 3.9.1820 Visits Königlich Preußische Eisengießerei and meets the French bronze caster François Léquine, who is probably working on the big Kreuzberg-Denkmal (1818-1821).
29.8. - 3.9.1820 Stays in Berlin in the company of Christian Daniel Rauch for five days. Visits the workshops of Rauch, Christian Friedrich Tiecks and Johann Gottfried Schadows værksteder. Sees Karl Friedrich Schinkel’s newly built Schauspielhaus.
29.8. - 3.9.1820 During Thorvaldsen’s stay in Berlin, several parties are given in his honour.
3.9.1820 Leaves Berlin via Potsdam, where he participates in a farewell party with the most prominent artists of Berlin.
6.9.1820 Arrives at Dresden late in the evening.
7.9.1820 Visits the picture gallery (Gemäldegalerie) in Dresden in the morning, the collection of antiques in the afternoon, and spends the evening, probably in the house of Ludwig Tieck (1773-1853).
8.9.1820 Visits the Gemäldegalerie in Dresden again (cf. 7.9.1820) and other collections.
9.9.1820 Attends a lecture by Karl August Böttiger. In the afternoon another visit to the Gemäldegalerie (cf. 7.9.1820 and 8.9.1820), but this time alone. Sees the opera Elisabetta, regina d’Inghilterra by Gioachino Rossini in the evening accompanied by Louis Philippe de Bombelles.
10.9.1820 Celebration party in the evening at the painter Friedrich Matthäi. At 10 o’clock he is cheered by the students of the Academy of Fine Arts with music, torchlight procession, and a speech.
11.9.1820 Spends the day with Franz Pettrich and meets again with Karl August Böttiger in Dresden.
12.9.1820 Leaves Dresden.
15.9.1820 Arrives at Breslau (today Wrocław) and visits the Steffens family.
16.9.1820 Leaves Breslau / Wrocław.
19.9.1820 Arrives in Warsaw. Housed by Stanisław Mokronowski.
19.9.1820 Thorvaldsen’s arrival in Warsaw is celebrated by the members of the academy of art and the professors at the university.
Not earlier than 20.9.1820 - not later than 20.10.1820 In Warsaw, Angelica Catalani sings for Thorvaldsen and the viceroy of Poland, Grand Duke Constantine Pavlovich (1779-1831), brother to Alexander 1.
30.9.1820 Nicolaus Copernicus, cf. A113, is commissioned by La Societé Royale des Amis des Sciences et des Belles lettres in Warszaw.
5.10. - 14.10.1820 In Warsaw Alexander 1., A715 poses for his portrait.
15.10.1820 Alexander 1. modtager Thorvaldsen i audiens i Warszawa som tak for portrættet, A715. Har dagen før modtaget en ring fra kejseren.
16.10.1820 På museum med Wiktor Maksymilian Ossolinski. Om aftenen til hofbal.
21.10.1820 Thorvaldsen leaves Warsaw in the company of Paweł Maliński and Simon Christian Pontoppidan.
23.10.1820 Arrives in Cracow and lodges probably at the Hôtel au Providence.
24.10.1820 Takes a short trip to Wieliczka and visits the famous salt mine.
In the evening, in the theatre in Kraków.
Not earlier than 24.10. - not later than 28.10.1820 Probably visits the place where the Kościuszko Mound in Kraków was built.
26.10.1820 Attends a concert in Cracow.
28.10.1820 Leaves Cracow.
30.10.1820 Arrives in Troppau / Opava during the congress of Troppau.
Not earlier than 30.10. - not later than 2.11.1820 Meets with Franz 1. and Alexander 1. during the congress of Troppau.
31.10.1820 Monument to Karl Philipp von Schwarzenberg (sketch A120) is commissioned by Frans 1. for Troppau / Opava. The monument was never executed.
31.10.1820 In the theatre in Troppau / Opava with Paweł Maliński and Simon Christian Pontoppidan.
Not earlier than November 1820 - not later than October 1821 Drawings for the Monument to Karl Philipp von Schwarzenberg, C250r, C251, C252, C253.
1.11.1820 Again in the theatre in Troppau / Opava.
2.11.1820 Leaves Troppau / Opava.
5.11.1820 Arrives in Vienna, and lodges at the hotel Zum Erzherzog Karl in Kärntnerstrasse 31.
6.11.1820 Franziska Caspers and Thorvaldsen meet in Vienna. The first of many.
8.11.1820 The floor in one of Thorvaldsen’s studios in Rome collapses. The original model of Ganymede with Jupiter’s Eagle, cf. A45, is smashed, and marble versions of Shepherd Boy, cf. A177 and Cupid Triumphant, cf. A22, are damaged.
13.11.1820 Visits Prince Albert Kasimir von Sachsen-Teschen’s collection of prints in what is today the Albertina Museum in Vienna.
14.11.1820 Visits Liechtensteinsche Gemäldegalerie in Vienna.
17.11.1820 Visits Harrachsche Gemäldesammlung, Schönbornsche Gemäldegalerie and the art collection of Moritz Christian Fries in Vienna.
18.11.1820 Visits Schönbrunn. In the evening in the theatre.
19.11.1820 Thorvaldsen’s 50th birthday. Goes to the theater in Vienna with Paweł Maliński and Simon Christian Pontoppidan.
Presumably 24.11.1820 At a party at Nicolaus Esterházy Thorvaldsen is informed of the accident in his Roman studio 8.11.1820. He changes his plans and heads directly for Rome two days later.
24.11.1820 Visits St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna. Climbs the tower.
Later in the theater with Maliński and Pontoppidan.
26.11.1820 Leaves Vienna.
26.11.1820 Arrives at Wiener Neustadt. Stays overnight.
Visits St. George’s Church.
1.12.1820 Christian Frederik and his retinue arrive in Rome after a long stay in the area around Naples.
2.12.1820 Arrives at Mestre via Leoben, Villach and Udine. Stopover in Mestre.
3.12.1820 Arrives in Venice, and lodges at the Hôtel d’Angleterre.
3.12.1820 Visits the Doge’s Palace and St Mark’s Basilica. In the evening at the theater.
4.12.1820 Visits the Venetian Arsenal, the two churches San Giorgio Maggiore and Il Redentore, and also Gallerie dell’Accademia.
5.12.1820 Leaves Venice and arrives once again in Mestre.
5.12.1820 Reaches Padua. Goes to the theater, and stays overnight.
6.12.1820 Arrives in Verona. Stays overnight. Visits the amphitheatre and some churches the next day.
7.12.1820 Arrives in Mantua and stays overnight. Visits Palazzo del Te the next day.
9.12.1820 Arrives at Bologna. Stays overnight. Visits the next day the art collection in Accademia Nazionale di Belle Arti di Bologna.
10.12.1820 Arrives in Faenza. Stays overnight.
11.12.1820 Travels through Cesena and Rimini; spends the night at Cattolica at the shore of the Adriatic Sea.
12.12.1820 Christian (8.) Frederik rides out (in vain) to meet Thorvaldsen, who is on his way to Rome.
13.12.1820 Arrives – via Pesaro, Fano and Acqualagna – at Nocera Umbra. Stays overnight.
14.12.1820 Arrives – via Foligno and Spoleto – at Terni. Stays overnight. Ses the waterfalls Cascata delle Marmore.
15.12.1820 Travels via Civita Castellana to Nepi. Stays overnight.
16.12.1820 Arrives back in Rome after his sojourn in Denmark 1819-1820.
16.12.1820 Has tea in the evening with Christian (8.) Frederik and the Duchess of Westmoreland, Jane Fane (1775-1857).
Not later than 17.12.1820 The monument to Thomas Maitland is erected on the island of Zante (cf. the portrait bust, A258, and the relief, A600).
17.12.1820 Christian (8.) Frederik visits Thorvaldsens workshops and views the damages after the collapse of a floor. Afterwards, he has dinner with Thorvaldsen and other Danes in Rome.
21.12.1820 Thorvaldsen and Claus Christian Bang have dinner with Christian (8.) Frederik.
24.12.1820 Celebrates Christmas Eve with Christian (8.) Frederik and other Danes in Rome, among others Claus Christian Bang. They have rice pudding, exchange gifts, and play lotto.
28.12.1820 Begins the modeling of Caroline Amalie, A716, in Palazzo Negroni.
28.12.1820 Celebration in Thorvaldsen’s honour in the Palazzo Fiano, Piazza di San Lorenzo, with, among others, Prince Christian (8.) Frederik.
30.12.1820 Celebrates another Christmas Eve at Claus Christian Bang’s place in the company of other Danes. Carl Otto has written a song of welcome to Thorvaldsen.
30.12.1820 Works on Caroline Amalie’s bust, A716, in Palazzo Negroni.
31.12.1820 Celebrates New Year’s Eve with Ludwig (1.) of Bavaria. The guests are Johann Martin von Wagner, Joseph Anton Koch, Philipp Veit, Ferdinand Ruscheweyh, Eduard Schmidt von der Launitz, Johann Nepomuk Ringseis and Thorvaldsen. The party ends at 2 a.m.