Comment on 23.9.1806
Part of this passage has been left out in the finished version of the letter, probably because it is unclear what Thorvaldsen wants to say: Does he mean that he would not be able to make enough money to cover the expenses for his journey to Denmark and needs the last portion of his travelling scholarship – and therefore that he is planning his return to Denmark at some unspecified time in the future? Or does he rather mean that he has abandoned his plans to go to Denmark, and as his income is so small, he sees no good reason why the Academy should not pay him the last portion of his travelling scholarship even though the Academy had earmarked that money for the journey itself (see letter of 3.12.1799 from the Academy of Fine Arts to Thorvaldsen)?
Even though Thorvaldsen’s continued stay in Italy had been officially approved by the Danish authorities, cf. the related article about this, he could probably not declare openly that he did not plan to return as the wording here might suggest. That was probably why any mention of the return to Denmark was deleted from the final letter.
Last updated 26.08.2015