Comment on 6.8.1804
The crate that Thorvaldsen is referring to may be the 4th
Crate of the shipment that arrived in Copenhagen in 1802.
In a letter of 20.3.1802 to Abildgaard, Thorvaldsen had asked his mentor to keep the crates for him “until I return home”. As Thorvaldsen’s return to Denmark at this time had been postponed indefinitely, cf. Thorvaldsen’s Continuance in Rome around 1803-1804, the crates with prints could be of use instead of just being in storage.
Earlier, cf. letter of 21.7.1800, Abildgaard had appropriated a volume of prints of Raphael’s works which Thorvaldsen had sent home and asked him to buy another copy. This may be the reason why the tone in the request to send the crate to Charlotte Schimmelmann may appear somewhat sharp. However, this passage was deleted from the final letter.
Last updated 01.06.2015