Comment on 7.12.1804
The relief is The Dance of the Muses on Helicon, cf. A705, the modelling of which Thorvaldsen completed at Montenero not later than 24.9.1804. Like the two busts mentioned above, the work was to be sent to Rome in order to be carved in marble, which is why Thorvaldsen goes on to asks the precise dimensions that would fit the marble slab that he had chosen for the purpose in Rome.
Incidentally, it is quite paradoxical that Thorvaldsen had such difficulties spelling the word bas-relief as his reliefs are very often emphasized as his best works, and as he was later known under the flattering epithet of The Patriarch of the Bas-Relief, see the Subject Heading regarding this.
Last updated 13.07.2015