Comment on Omkring 1.2.1804
Thorvaldsen must be referring to Schimmelmann’s letter of 15.12.1803 to her brother, in which she writes that she has “unfortunately not seen any of the beautiful [busts] as you know that I am always shut up in my house.” It is not known why she was confined to her home. The passage is reproduced in letter of 21.1.1804 from Schubart to Thorvaldsen.
He is clearly annoyed that such an interested person had not seen the busts, especially as they had been executed with a view to being sold. In his letter of 25.2.1804 to Abildgaard, he wrote : “The bust were all made on speculation…”
Last updated 10.02.2015