Bertel Thorvaldsen
Rom
Hans Henrik Gunnerus
Halden
Ingen udskrift.
Dateringen fremgår af brevet.
Thorvaldsen responds to Gunnerus’ letter of 16.3.1822. He feels sympathy for Gunnerus and his unhappy situation and has decided to help him. He offers donate a relief, Caritas, cf. A598, and will arrange for its shipment as soon as possible.
| Velbyrdige hr. Hans Henrik Gunnerus | |
| i FrederiksteenI i Norge. |
Jeg har imodtaget Deres Velbyrdigheds Skrivelse af 30te Marts d.A.II
Den Tilstand, hvori Deres Velbyrdighed, Fader og Forsøger for en talrig FamilieIII, for Tiden befinder Dem, har bedrøvet mig, og jeg besluttede strax, forsaavidt det staaer i mine indskrænkede Evner, at bestræbe mig for at raade Bod paa samme.
Iblandt de Arbejder, som paa nærværende Tid befinde sig i mine Værksteder, er der en BasreliefIV med tre Figurer, forestillende hvad Italiænerne sædvanligen benævne en Carità, nemlig en Groupe af en Moder med tvende Børn, som jeg troer, maaske kunde tjene til bemeldte Hensigt. Det er udført i den skjønneste CarariskeV Marmor, høit 1 Alen 2 Tom., bredt 19 Tommer danske Maal. Jeg afstaar Dem herved med fuldkommen Ejendomsret bemeldte Basrelief i Marmor, som skal afgaae vel indpakket med Allerførste til Livorno, hvor den Danske Vice-Consul Hr. MarassiVI, Ridder af Dannebrog, som jeg derom tilskriver, vil aftale det Fornødne med Deres Landsmand Hr. StubVII (som nu er etableret i Livorno), paa det bemeldte Kasse som snarest kan blive spederet enten directe til en Havn i det sydlige Norge eller og til Helsingøer. Jeg overlader det til Deres Velbyrdighed, om De maaskee selv, for endydermere at paaskynde Speditionen fra Livorno af, vilde tilskrive enten Hr. Marassi eller Hr. Stub et Par Ord derom.
Det ville ubeskrivelig glæde mig, hvis jeg ved bemeldte mit Arbejde kunde bidrage til at lindre Deres og kjære Families Tilstand.
Anbefalende mig Deres venlige Ihukommelse, er
jeg stedse
Rom, d. 24 Mai 1822
| Deres Velbyrdigheds | |
| hengivne Ven og Tjener | |
| Albert Thorvaldsen. |
P.S.
For at meddele Deres Velbyrdighed strax en Idée om den omskrevne Basrelief, indslutter jeg endnu her det KobberstikVIII af samme, som hr. AmslerIX i Fjor udførte.
| Honourable Mr Hans Henrik Gunnerus | |
| In Frederiksteen in Norway. |
I have received Your Honour’s letter of March 30th this year.
The state in which Your Honour is at present, father and breadwinner for a numerous family has grieved me and I immediately decided as far as it is in my limited power to strive to remedy the same.
Among the works which at present are in my workshops there is a bas-relief with three figures representing what the Italians generally call a Caritas that is a group of a mother with two children, which I think might serve the mentioned purpose. It has been executed in the most beautiful Carraran marble, high 1 alen 2 tom. [abt. 2 feet 2 inches] wide 19 tommer [abt. 19 inches] Danish measure. I hereby make the mentioned bas-relief in marble over to you with complete ownership, which as soon as possible well packed up shall be forwarded to Leghorn, where the Danish vice-consul Mr Marassi, knight of the Dannebrog, to whom I shall write about this, will make the necessary arrangements with your countryman Mr Stub (who has now established himself in Leghorn) about the crate mentioned above which as soon as possible may be forwarded either directly to a port in the South of Norway or to Elsinore. I leave it to Your Honour whether you perhaps yourself would write a few words about this either to Mr Marassi or Mr Stub all the more to hasten the forwarding from Leghorn.
It would please me beyond measure if by my above-mentioned work I might help to relieve the condition of you and your dear family.
Commending myself to your kind remembrance
I am always
Rome, May 24th 1822
| Your Honour’s | |
| Faithful friend and Servant | |
| Albert Thorvaldsen |
P.S.
To give Your Honour a notion immediately about the above-mentioned bas-relief I here enclose the engraving of the same, which Mr Amsler made last year.
[Translated by Karen Husum]
The letter is a reproduction of the printed version in Nyeste Skilderie af Kjøbenhavn, published September 21, 1822. Under the heading “Thorvaldsen as Philanthropist”, the letter was reproduced in its entirety, together with a long description of the circumstances regarding Thorvaldsen’s donation of the relief Caritas, cf. A598, to the imprisoned Hans Henrik Gunnerus.
The letter also exists as a draft by a copyist with important differences between the final letter and the one printed here. Both versions of the letter are part of a long correspondence that stretches from 1822 to 1833. For more information about this and Thorvaldsen’s donation, see the related article.
|
|
Caritas, 1810, inv.nr. A598 |
|
|
Caritas, 1826, inv.nr. E31,11 |
Last updated 17.11.2015
Frederiksten fortress is at Halden, Norway. Gunnerus was emprisoned there, charged with embezzlement. See the related article for more information about Gunnerus’ situation and emprisonment.
The letter referred to here is the duplicate that Gunnerus sent of his first letter of 16.3.1822. Because of the instability of mail delivery, Gunnerus sent a copy dated 30.3.1822 (the duplicate is not known). Unlike the draft of 24.5.1822, which refers to both letters from Gunnerus, only one is mentioned here.
Gunnerus and his wife Anna Gotharda Gunnerus, neé Gadebusch (ca. 1781-1848) had seven children: Ditlev Gunnerus, Anna Marie, Lorentze Sophie, Franziska, Caroline, Johan Ernst and Elisabeth.
Thorvaldsen is here referring to the relief Caritas, now in the Church of Our Lady, Copenhagen, cf. A598.
I.e. marble from the quarry at Carrara in the Apuan mountains in north western Italy. Carrara marble is known for its particularly fine white quality and was Thorvaldsen’s preferred type of marble.
The Italian vice consul and wine merchant Jean Marassi (?- after 1825). Marassi received the Order of the Dannebrog in 1821, cf. Rud Bay: Sentimentalsk rejse giennem Europa til Algier 1816. Copenhagen, 1919, p. 188.
The Norwegian merchant Gerhard Stub.
The engraving which was sent to Gunnerus has not been identified, but it must be similar to Samuel Amsler’s engraving E31,11, which in 1826 was included in a series entitled: Collezione di 25 statue e bassorilievi del cav. Alb. Thorvaldsen con una breve illustrazione di A. Carnevalini, Rome 1826.
The Swiss engraver Samuel Amsler.