Comment on 20.4.1820
In the charter of the Academy of Fine Arts dated 1814, issued by Frederik 6., §4 says that ”The Academy [is] to be regarded partly as a school of art to educate artists and partly as an art society to propagate appreciation of art.”
Thorvaldsen’s argument that a union of the King’s collection of paintings and the sculpture collection of the academy would benefit the education of the students of the academy and the enlightenment of the public, is quite a stroke of genius: Thorvaldsen actually suggests a liberalization, in which the King is to give his collection of paintings to the people, but he makes it sound unproblematic as if it is just in agreement with the charter, or what the King himself wants.
Last updated 05.12.2016