Bertel Thorvaldsen
Rom
Nicolai Abildgaard
København
Ingen udskrift.
Tilskrift: Til / Herr Justiceraad / Abildgaard.
Dateringen fremgår af brevet.
Thorvaldsen informs Abildgaard that the block of marble he has ordered will be sent in the autumn. He asks Abildgaard to pay for transportation of the crates he has sent to Copenhagen. He gives Abildgaard the busts of Homer, A751, and Raphael, A752 as a present. He has received the commission for the bust of Jacob Baden, A863, and will begin working on it soon. He writes that it is not his intention to stay permanently in Rome, but various assignments keep him there for the time being. Thorvaldsen grieves over his parents’ fate and hopes that some of the busts he has sent to Denmark can be sold to benefit his father. He wonders why he has not heard from his father.
Rom d: 28de Julii 1805
Gode Hr Justiceraad!
Med Fornøelse har Jeg modtaget Deres Kiære og Venskablige Brev af 31 Juniil f.a.I At jeg ej før har Opfyldt min Skyldighed at besvare Justiceraaden er formedels jeg trode at have kundet give Dem nogen Sikkerhed om det Stykke MarmorII som De har bedt mig at forskaffe Dem; jeg skrevIII strax til Carrara derom, men da formedelst Krig og PestIV ikke er gaaet noget Skib fra Carrara, men man venter i dette Efteraar skulde komme nogle [stykker] Marmor til Rom og Livorno, saa haaber jeg en af dem medbringer det omtalte Stykke, som skal blive befordret til Kiøbenhavn paa den Maade De har bedet mig omV.
Den Summa som den Danske Cunsul UlrichVI i Livorno skal have for omkosningerne for de KasserVII som kom til Kiøbenhavn med Fregatten Triton er 70 Piaster ToskanaVIII, som jeg beder De vilde være saa god at udbetale til hans KorrispondentIX i Kiøbenhavn da jeg engang har taget mig den Frihed at anvise ham paa Dem, saa Ønskede jeg De ville afgiøre denn Sag, som jeg med al Taknemlighed igen skal betaleX; Det giør mig ondt ikke at kunde erfare hvor min PortefeuilleXI med Kobber samt den Bog med Raderte LanskaberXII, addreseret til Hr VestXIII, er bleven af. Min Tanke har aldri været at ville have Betaling for de to Buster Homer og RaphaelXIV jeg har tilsendt Dem; det er en saare liden Erkjendtlighed for alle de Godheder De beviser mig, men jeg troede de medfølgende BusterXV efter H:.Baron von SchubartXVI Sigende var solgte og derfor bad deraf at aft[r]ække det for mig Udlagte. Den med Hr Løentenant SejdevitzXVII medsendte Masque og Malede Protrait af avdøde Professor BadenXVIII har jeg bekommet, og skal med det første tage det under Arbejde; jeg faaer 100 DukaterXIX for et Protrait lidt over naturlig Størrelse, og troer ikke at kunde giøre dette ringere ensom 200r DanskXX, som bliver lidet over det halv[e] af hvad jeg ellers faaer, da vor Kurs staaer saa sletXXI; i øvrigt overlader jeg det til Dem, hvad De gjør er vel giort.
At gjøre mit OpholdXXII bestandig i Rom, kan jeg oprigtigt tilstaae Justiceraaden, aldrig har været min Tanke; men at kunde udføre nogle Arbejder i Marmor, som man har betroet mig og som jeg er vis paa ikke i Kiøbenhavn ey ville blive forlangt afXXIII, er hvad der giør mit Ophold her saa meget mere interessant og nødvendigt men at komme tilbage til mit Fødeland er mit bestemte Haab og Ønske, dersom jeg lever; og derfor takker jeg Dem Hr Justiceraad! af mit ganske Hierte for Deres Gode og Venskabelige PlanXXIV som De saa heldig har udførdt ved Academiet til mit Beste.
Mine ForældresXXV Skiæbne ligger mig haardt paa Hjertet, saameget mere smerteligt, da jeg ikke endnu er i stand til at kunde gjøre noget tilbeste for min Fader; dersom De Arbejder jeg har skikketXXVI, og de jeg vil skikke kunde hjelpe ham noget saa skulde det inderlig Glæde mig, jeg begriber ikke hvorfor han aldrig Skriver mig til; jeg hae paa to Breve ingen Svar faaetXXVII, han er vist vred paa mig fordi jeg ikke kommer tilbage, men jeg har som De lettelig begriber ikke kunde gjort andet.
Mine hjerteligste Ønsker for Deres Sundhed og Velgaaende følge Dem, beste Herr Justiceraad; De vedblive med Deres sædvanlige Godhed at ynde mig og troe mig med den sandest Høiagtelse
Deres ærbødigste
og hengivne Tjener
B. Thorvaldsen
Rome, July 28th 1805
Sir, Counsellor,
I have with pleasure received your welcome and kindly letter of June 31st last year. I have not before fulfilled my obligation to answer the Counsellor because I thought I should be able to give you some certainty about the piece of marble which you have asked me to procure for you; I immediately wrote to Carrara about it, but as because of war and plague no ship has left Carrara, but it is expected that this autumn some pieces of marble will come to Rome and Leghorn, then I hope that one of the ships carries with it the said piece, which shall be transported to Copenhagen the way you have asked me to.
The sum which the Danish Consul Ulrich in Leghorn must have for the expenses for the crates which arrived at Copenhagen with the frigate Triton is 70 Tuscan piastres which I ask you to be as kind as to pay to his business connexion in Copenhagen as I once have taken the liberty to show him to you, I wished you would settle this matter, which with gratitude I shall repay; I am sorry not to be able to learn what has become of my portfolio with prints as well as a book with landscape engravings addressed to Mr West. I have never meant to expect to be paid for the two busts Homer and Raphael which I have sent to you, it is a very small acknowledgement of all the kindness you show me, but I thought that the accompanying busts according to Baron Schubart’s account had been sold and that was why I asked you to deduct what had been laid out for me. I have received the masque sent along with Lieutenant Seydewitz and the painted portrait of the deceased professor Baden and at the first I shall start working at it; I receive 100 ducats for a portrait somewhat bigger than life-size, and I do not think I can make it less than 200 Danish rix-dollars, which will amount to little more than half of what I usually get, as our exchange is rather bad; besides I leave it to you, what you do is well done.
To make my stay in Rome eternal I can sincerely admit to the Counsellor has never been my intention; but to be able to execute some works in marble, which I have been entrusted and which I am certain would not be demanded of me in Copenhagen, is what makes my stay here so much more interesting and necessary, but to return to my native land is my definite hope and wish, if I am still alive; and that is why I thank you, Sir, with all my heart for you kind and friendly plan, which you have carried out so successfully to my benefit at the Academy.
The lot of my parents is of vital concern to me, the more painful as I still am not able to do anything of benefit to my father; if the works I have sent and the ones I shall send might help him some, it would sincerely please me, I can not think why he never writes to me; to two letters I have had no answer, I believe he is angry with me, because I do not return, but as you easily will understand I could not do anything else. My kindest wishes for your health follow you, dear Sir; may you with your usual kindness continue to like me and believe me with the deepest respect
Your most faithful
and devoted servant,
B. Thorvaldsen
[Translated by Karen Husum]
There is a draft of this letter which is almost identical.
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Rafael, januar 1800 - oktober 1800, inv.nr. A752 |
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Homer, 1799, inv.nr. A751 |
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Agrippa, 1799 - 1800, inv.nr. A759 |
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Cicero, 1799 - 1800, inv.nr. A760 |
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Cicero, 1799 - 1800, inv.nr. A761 |
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A.P. Bernstorff, Antagelig tidligst september 1797 - Senest november 1797, inv.nr. A208 |
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Jacob Baden, juni 1806 - september 1806, inv.nr. A863 |
Last updated 27.07.2015
This is clearly a slip of the pen for January 31st (1805) for two reasons: Firstly, the draft of this letter reads 31 Janii, which Thorvaldsen while transcribing the final letter has obviously copied without thinking about the content, which is probably symptomatic of the sculptor’s dyslexia, see Thorvaldsen’s Spoken and Written Language. Secondly, immediately below Thorvaldsen mentions the block of marble he had been asked by Abildgaard to get from Carrara in letter of 31.1.1805. Thiele has also corrected the date to January 31st in his transcription, cf. Thiele II, p. 21.
See letter of 31.1.1805 from Abildgaard.
This letter is not known, see the list of Lost Letters.
Regarding war, Thorvaldsen is referring to the War of the Third Coalition between France on one side and Austria, Russia, Great Britain, and others on the other. This war culminated in the Battle of Trafalgar 21.10.1805 (in English victory) and the Battle of Austerlitz 2.12.1805 (in French victory). The war made shipping difficult.
Regarding plague in the area around Carrara, Thorvaldsen may be referring to the yellow fever which ravaged Tuscany at the end of 1804 and restricted people’s movement in and out of Tuscany, see e.g. Herman Schubart’s letter of 28.12.1804 to Thorvaldsen.
In this letter of 31.1.1805, Abildgaard had asked Thorvaldsen to order a block of marble and have it sent to Leghorn, whence it was to be forwarded to Copenhagen.
The Danish consul J.C. Ulrich.
In 1802 Thorvaldsen had five crates sent to Copenhagen, see Transport of Thorvaldsen’s Artworks to Copenhagen 1798 and 1802.
See Ulrich’s specification of the bill in letter of 9.5.1803 to Thorvaldsen.
Ulrich’s contact in Copenhagen was probably the Danish merchant Peter Rabeholm, who, in letter of 18.4.1803, had already asked Abildgaard to pay for the transportation of the crates without any result.
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.
This portfolio is not known today. Thorvaldsen had asked about it in his letter of 6.8.1804, and Abildgaard had answered on 31.1.1805 that he knew nothing about it.
The portfolio was sent in one of the crates which had been sent on board the frigate Triton from Leghorn to Copenhagen in 1802 and was mentioned in Thorvaldsen’s letter of 4.4.1800.
The portfolio had by mistake been given to Friedrich Münter but was intended for Jørgen West. It appears from a later letter of 19.10.1805 that the portfolio had ended up with Münter’s sister Friederike Brun, who at Abildgarrd’s request gave it up to Jørgen West.
In letter of 11.3.1803, West mentions that he had not received anything from Italy at that time.
This book of landscape engravings has not been identified.
Thorvaldsen’s good friend, the Danish carpenter Jørgen West.
Thorvaldsen’s marble busts of Homer, A751, and Raphael, A752.
These bust were A.P. Bernstorff (Brahetrolleborg, cf. A208), Agrippa, A759, and Cicero, A760 and A761.
>The Danish diplomat “Herman Schubart.
See letter of 21.1.1804 from Schubart, in which he quotes passages from a letter of 15.12.1803 from his sister Charlotte Schimmelmann. This letter reports that there is some interest in the busts that Thorvaldsen had sent home, and that the Prime Minister Count Joachim Godske Moltke (1746-1818, cf. E454) wanted to buy the bust of A.P. Bernstorff. None of the busts, however, were sold, see letter of 31.1.1805 from Abildgaard.
The Danish officer and painter Carl Christian Seydewitz.
The Danish philologist Jacob Baden. Regarding the commission of Jacob Baden’s bust, A863, based on the death mask and the portrait painting mentioned, see letter of 29.12.1804 fra Abildgaard.
It is not completely certain what 100 ducats corresponded to, but Thorvaldsen’s works were usually paid in scudi, the Roman monetary unit, and at this time he charged 200 scudi for a portrait bust slightly more than full size. This, then, would mean that 1 ducat corresponded to 2 scudi. See the article about Monetary Units.
See also the article about the prices of Thorvaldsen’s works.
I.e. 200 rix-dollars Danish current. See also the article about Monetary Units.
The exchange rate of Danish rix-dollars was apparently poor.
For example, in connection with Thorvaldsen’s grant from Fonden ad usus publicos of 6.3.1804, the sum of 300 Danish rix-dollars was converted into another currency: “[...] The board [of the foundation] asks permission: to assign this sum to him at the bank (Bank-Comptoir) in Altona in Hamburger Banco in order to secure him against a loss on exchanges.” Thorvaldsen then received a bill for 240 rix-dollars “in Hamburger Banco”, see Ernst Schimmelmann’s recommendation to the King, reproduced in the Danish National Archives (ed.): Fonden ad usus publicos. Aktmæssige Bidrag til Belysning af dens virksomhed, vol. 2, 1801-26, Copenhagen 1902, p. 75.
In 1804 Thorvaldsen had got official permission from the Danish state to stay in Rome indefinitely, see the related article A Free Man. Thorvaldsen’s Continuance in Rome.
As appears below, he was still, at the moment of writing this letter, planning to return to Denmark some time.
Thus Thorvaldsen answered the question Abildgaard had asked in his previous letter of 31.1.1805.
By this Thorvaldsen means that he would not been able to get as interesting assignments in Copenhagen as he had the possibility of getting in Rome. He is referring to the commissions from e.g. Countess Vorontsova, the Baptismal Font for Brahetrolleborg kirke, Thomas Hope and others.
In other words, he is saying that the presence in Rome of art-lovers with purchasing power made the return to Denmark professionally uninteresting.
At the beginning of 1805, it was Abildgaard’s plan that the position, the residence, and the studio of the ailing professor of sculpture, Andreas Weidenhaupt should be reserved for Thorvaldsen, see letter of 31.1.1805 from Abildgaard. Weidenhaupt actually died on 26.4.1805, after which Abildgaard’s plan was implemented, see letter of 15.6.1805 from the Academy of Fine Arts to Thorvaldsen with the appointment and the announcement that Thorvaldsen would get Weidenhaupt’s residence and studio plus 400 rix-dollars a year when he returned.
I.e. Gotskalk and Karen Thorvaldsen. The latter died 7.1.1804, which Thorvaldsen was told about in a letter from Abildgaard of 17.1.1804.
I.e. the above-mentioned “accompanying busts” of A.P. Bernstorff (Brahetrolleborg, cf. A208), Agrippa, A759, and Cicero, A760 and A761, which Thorvaldsen hoped, in vain, would be sold. It is clear from the letter that the sculptor wanted the proceeds to go to his needy father.
The last preserved letter from Gotskalk Thorvaldsen which the son had received was from 3.5.1803, i.e. more than two years old. Here the father reproaches his son for not having returned as Thorvaldsen goes on to mention.
There may of course have been letters sent later by Gotskalk Thorvaldsen, which are not preserved today. It is, for instance, remarkable that no letter exists in which the father tells his son about his mother’s death 7.1.1804.