Comment on 28.7.1805
It is somewhat unclear what Thorvaldsen means by this. Maybe the sculptor is just suggesting that he will owe Abildgaard a great debt of gratitude if he will pay for the transportation of the five crates. But another interpretation could be that Thorvaldsen is here promising to pay the whole bill although he only suggests paying part of it in letter of 6.8.1804, while he thinks that the entire expense should be paid by Abildgaard / the Academy of Fine Arts in the draft of that letter.
However, it is more likely to be a vague statement that would make Abildgaard / the Academy of Fine Arts finally pay for the transportation, which Thorvaldsen had repeatedly requested, and which he also seemed to find reasonable.
The letter of 28.7.1806 from J.C. Ulrich to Thorvaldsen shows how the matter ended: Ulrich wrote that the merchant H.M. Frisch (probably on Abildgaard’s behalf) on 14.2.1806 had paid almost two thirds of the bill. Thorvaldsen then was to pay the balance of a little more than 24 Tuscan piastres. That finally settled the matter.
Last updated 27.07.2015