John Gibson
Rom
Edward Bulwer Lytton
?
Dateringen fremgår af brevet.
Gibson wonders that John Lough neither visits other sculptors’ workshops nor receives visits in his own. He has not even accepted an offer to meet “the foremost sculptor of the age”, Thorvaldsen. Gibson never models a work without consulting Thorvaldsen and others and profits greatly from it.
[...] Mr [John] LoughI has also his own peculiar notions on this subject and has been here a year or so working with great rapidity without having seen a single studio nor will he allow any artist to enter his place so that he goes on entirely alone. A gentleman here to whom he had brought a letter of introduction too, told me that he offered to make him known to Thorvaldsen, thinking that Mr L might wish to consult the first sculptor of the age on his profession. Lough said, No Sir I never invited …. to my studio – now this is so contrary to the custom at RomeII – some of the artists of different nations here visit each other’s studio – consult with one another there on what they do. I never model a work without consulting ThorvaldsenIII and others and have always found great benefit from this practice – it is combining together to advance art – where art is a mere trade this is not the practice. [...]
Af brevet citeres kun de dele, som vedrører/omhandler Thorvaldsen. Brevet er afskrevet med enkelte ortografiske rettelser og venligt stillet til rådighed af Eric Forster.
Last updated 26.11.2018
Den britiske billedhugger John Graham Lough (1798-1876).
Gibson sætter her ord på et særtræk ved kunstnermiljøet i Rom, hvor det tydeligvis var gængs praksis at rådføre sig om sin kunst med andre kunstnere, også af andre nationaliteter. Han understreger, at det er, fordi man arbejder sammen i kunstens tjeneste modsat andre steder, hvor handel og profit er i højsædet.
Når Gibson påpeger, at han aldrig modellerer et værk uden at konsultere Thorvaldsen og andre, er det meget sigende for Thorvaldsens udstrakte villighed til at agere mentor for andre kunstnere.