C.W. Eckersberg
Rom
J.F. Clemens
København
Dateringen fremgår ikke af udkastet, men af Bramsen og Ragn Jensen, op. cit.
The commentary to this document is not available at the moment.
Gode Hr. Clemens
Deres mig saa kjærkomne Brev af 3. August og 21 August har jeg rigtig imodtaget samt hævet her hos Tolonia Beløbet af 800 francs i 2 forskjellige Gange som gav mig (maaskee artige Interesser af Tolonias’ fraregnet) 148 romerske Scudi, for disse 2. Breve, som ogsaa for Deres sidste med Müller som jeg nyeligen har bekomet Takker jeg Dem Hjerteligen, og end meere for de end meer end Faderlige Bestræbelser og Opofrelser, De giør for mit Vel, som jeg saa ofte tager saa store Beviiser paa. Jeg kan aldrig forskylde det igien De har giordt for mig, jeg kan kun sige Dem et svagt Tak, som De ikke vil forsmaae, men aldrig skal jeg ophøre at være Erkjendtlig. Jeg har opsat indtil nu at skrive Dem af den Aarsag, at jeg ikke vilde foraarsage Dem formange Udgivter, da et Brev herfra sikkert vil koste meeget, og jeg ikke vel tør frankeere det hele vejen af frygt at de ligegyldige Italienere skal lade det ligge, naar det er betalt, som skal have skeet ofte. Jeg imodtog i Søndags d. 31. Octob. Brev fra Akademiet af 4. Octob. hvori ytres bedste Tilfredshed, over mine hjemkomne Arbeider, og med min Fremgang. De gode Hr. Clemens ytrer mig selv, i Deres sidste Deres Tilfredshed med disse Arbeider, over mine Bestrebelser at blive Konstner, det første glæder og Opmuntrer mig, men det sidste endnu meeget meere, jeg har frygtet og maaskee med nogen Grund, at de sidste Arbeider neppe kunde have vundet saamegen Tilfredshed, da de langtfra ikke var det, jeg selv havde ønsket. De ved selv gode Hr. Clemens hvor vanskeligt det er at komme paa den rette Vey i Konsten hvor mange falske Afveje gives der ikke og een kan dog kun være den rette, naar man da kun blot engang har naaet den, har man alt giordt meeget, omendskjøndt derfra den rette Vanskelighed egentlig begynder, en ung Begyndere kan ofte gaae længe, og vel sit heele Levetid i mørke, med den bedste Villie at vilde stræbe frem imod lyset, hæld den som har fundet ældre og Erfarne Mænd, der kan hjælpe ham paa Spor, saaledes Takker jeg David for mangt et godt Raad, hvis lige, med nogle af hans Medlevende, jeg endnu ikke har fundet.
Ofte undrer jeg mig selv over, hvorledes Lykken altid har fulgt mig, fra min tidlige Ungdom af har Malerie altid været min største Lyst, ved Akademiet gjorde jeg Lykke i kort Tid, til en noget kritisk Tid, hjalp Lykken mig til en Understøttelse at kunde Reise, til at komme til Paris, til at se og lære af de Klassiske Mæsterværker gamle og nye, at kjende David at nyde hans Undervisning, og nu at være i Rom, at bo i samme Huus som Thorwaldsen, at kunde benytte mig af hans Konstsamling og Bibliothek, som jeg aldrig kunde treffe mageligere men hvem har jeg meest at takke derfor? og hvad var jeg uden Dem gode Hr. Clemens? Dem ene takker jeg for alt. Jeg stræber stedse af alle Kræfter at benytte Tiden og Leiligheden og at opnaa al den fuldkomenhed i Konsten, der kan blive mig muelig, og hvilken Lykke for mig, engang at kunde gavne mit fædreneland, og unge Menesker der bestemme sig til Konsten, at give gode Raad. De samme Ønsker, de samme Bestræbelser haver endnu 2 andre af mine meest Agtede og Kjære Venner, som tillige begge har en skjøn Virkekreds aabent til at gavne vores Dannemark, det er Möller og Malling, den førstes fremgang og fortjenester vil De have seet Prøver paa, ved ham kan vi faa vores vidst betydelige og skjøne Konstsamlinger betrygede for Undergang, og med ham vil vores unge Landskabsmalere kunde leedes paa den sande og gode Vey, og kjende Naturens himelske Tryllerier. Det glæder mig i vores Malling ikke alene at see en Mand, der alt tidligen leedet paa en god Vey, nu er gaaet frem til en fuldkommenhed, hvortil kun egentlig Naturen, og grundig Studium af Grekerne, vores Meestere kan leede, men at denne tillige ved sin Tilbagekomst kan indtræde i en Virkekreds, der giver ham meere Omfang til at udøve det skjønere og nytigere, og at fremvirke den gode og rene Smag i Architecturen, som maaske endnu hidindtil savnes.
Thorwaldsen, reiste 5 Dage efter min Ankomst til Rom, med Baron Schubart til Badene i St. Luca, nærværende er han i Florenz, og vendtes hertil i nogle Dage, han, en Hr. RauchI fra Berlin og Canova ere vel de tre egentligste Konstnere her, og vel de tre første nulevende Billedhuggere i Europa. Malere skal man egentlig søge i Paris en Malerisamling af gamle Mestere ogsaa, og Tak være fransoserene for den Indretning, at enhver kan benytte sig deraf. Saa er derimod et Vatikan, et Museum Pio Clementinum, som er ligesaa mageløst som Levningerne af det gamle Rom og den skjøne Natur, i denne Egn af Italien.
Jeg arbejder nu af alle Kræfter, vores Landsmands Thorwaldsens Exempel opmuntrer mig, foruden et par smaating som ere færdige, arbeider jeg paa to Malerier, hvortil sujettet er taget af Ovids skjøne fortælling om Ceux og HalcyoneII, det ere en Halcyone da hun har taget Afsked fra hendes elskte Mand, ved Strandbreden og nu fra en høyde af tilvinker ham som med Skibet snart er gaaet af Sigte, det sidste Le[v]vel, sidestykketIII viser hende sovende om Natten, Ceux’ Skykke viser sig hende, i en Drøm og forklarer hende hans Død, for at udtrykke hendes urolige Drøm har jeg sat hendes Pige ved Sengen, som er faldet i Søvn og sover roligt. Figurerne ere i PousinsIV størrelse. Jeg torde nesten haabe at De vilde være meere Tilfreds med mig, med disse Ting end med de forige, jeg har søgt at giøre alt hvad jeg kunde.
Jeg kan ikke undlade at ytre min Glæde over at H. M. Kongen har været saa Naadig, at give dette Gratiale af 1000 Rigsbankdaler, og min hjerteligste Tak for Deres gode fortale for mig, hos Kungen saavel som med den ædle Hr. NathansonV som alt har sat mig i den Stand at kunde arbeide som jeg beeder Dem meeget at hilse fra mig, saasnart mine nærværende Arbeider ere endte begynder jeg paa det storeVI af ham bestilte.
Det giør mig meeget ondt at erfare, at Tiderne ere saa Ulyksalige derhjemme, det er ret sørgeligt. Himlen give dog snart Bedring! Jeg takker ogsaa for al den Uleilighed De har med al Arangement af mine Pengesager og med mine Malerier, det er mig saa behageligt at der dog findes Liebhabere eller villige til at kjøbe dem, som dog altid giver lidt Balance. Maleriet til St. A. ThygesonVII er betalt med 300 francs. Fruentimeret som støtter Hovedet paa HaandenVIII, beholdt jeg vel selv om endskjøndt det har kostet mig meeget, men naar Hr. Secretair BangIX er villig til at give 130 francs, vil jeg gierne afstaae det de to smaa landskaberX, hver 180 francs, dette løber naturligt meeget op i danske Penger, men det er efter Omstændighederne det mindste jeg kan have, resten overlader jeg gandske til Dem gode Hr. Clemens. Jeg beeder Dem endnu at hilse og takke meeget den ædle Hr. General C. ClasenXI, som har beviist mig saa overordentlige Tjenster, og nu ladet mine Ting kome fra Paris.
Hils ogsaa meeget Hr. E.R. BernerXII ham skal jeg snart tilskrive. Til Akademiet og til Prindsen, afsender jeg idag ogsaa BreveXIII hils meeget den gode Hr. PlötzXIV, Geheimeraad Bulow, som ogsaa Kammerherren og alle andre Venner og ogsaa deres gode familie. Neste gang haaber jeg at medeele Dem meere om Rom og om Konsten og Tillad at jeg her endnu tilføjer noget til begge mine Venner Bagge og Møller.
Good Mr Clemens,
I have received your most welcome letter of the 3rd of August and the 21st of August as well as drawn here from Tolonia the amount of 800 francs at 2 different times which gave me (perhaps exclusive considerable interests of Tolonia) 148 Roman Scudi. For these two letters I thank you sincerely as well as for your last one with Mr Müller which I have received recently, and still more for the endeavours and sacrifices you like a father make for my benefit, of which I often see great proofs. I can never repay what you have done for me, I can only thank you quietly, which you will accept, but I shall never cease to show my gratitude. I have postponed writing to you, because I would not cause you too many expenses, as a letter from this place will cost a lot, and I dare not stamp it for all the way for fear that the indifferent Italians will let it be, when it has been paid for, a thing which is said to have happened often. Last Sunday the 31st of October I received a letter from The Academy of Fine Arts from the 4th of October in which is expressed the utmost satisfaction with my works which have arrived home, and with my progress. You yourself, good Mr Clemens, expresses to me in your last letter your satisfaction with these works, and my endeavours to become an artist. The former pleases and encourages me, but the latter much more. I have been worried and perhaps with some reason that the last works could hardly have won much acclaim as they were not at all what I myself had wished. You, good Mr Clemens, know yourself how difficult it is to get on the right road within art, how many wrong ways there are, and only one can be right, if only you have found it you have achieved a great deal, although from there the true difficulty will actually start. A young beginner may often walk about for long in the dark, perhaps all his life with the best will striving towards light. Happy the man who has found older and experienced men, who may help to put him on the right track, like this for much good advice I thank David whose equal together with some of his contemporaries I have not found yet.
I often wonder myself how I have always been fortunate. From early youth painting has always been my chief delight. At The Academy of Fine Arts I was successful for a short time, at a somewhat critical time good fortune helped me to get support to be able to travel, to get to Paris to see and learn from the classic masterpieces, old and new ones. To get to know David and receive his teaching and now to be in Rome to stay in the same house as Thorvaldsen. To be able to use his collection of art and library, which I would never find more comfortable, but to whom am I under the greatest obligations for this? And what would I be without you, good Mr Clemens? You alone I thank for everything. I always do my utmost to use time and opportunity to achieve the perfection in art, which is possible for me, and what happiness for me once to be able to be useful to my native country and to give good advice to young people who decide on art. Two other of my most respected and dear friends cherish the same wishes and endeavours; they both have a sphere of activities of benefit to our Denmark, it is Mr Möller and Mr Malling. The progress and merits of the former you will have seen proofs of, through him our apparently considerable and excellent collections of art may be safe from destruction. Also by him our young landscape painters may be directed to the true and good way, and get to know the divine charms of nature. In our Malling I am pleased to see not only a man who started early on a good way and has now reached a perfection to which only nature and a profound study of the Greeks, our masters, can lead, but that furthermore on his return he can take part in a sphere of activities giving him more possibilities to carry out the more beautiful and useful project and give rise to the good and pure taste in architecture, which perhaps has been missing until now.
5 days after my arrival in Rome Thorvaldsen left with Baron Schubart for the Baths in St. Luca, at present he is in Florence and is expected here in a couple of days. I suppose he, a Mr Rauch from Berlin and Canova are the three real artists here, and I suppose the foremost contemporary sculptors in Europe. Strictly speaking you are to look for painters in Paris, also a collection of paintings by ancient masters, and thanks to the French for the arrangement that anyone can make use of it. Compared to it, there is a Vatikan, a Museum Pio Clementinum, which is just as unique as the relics of ancient Rome and the beautiful scenery in this part of Italy.
I now work with a will, the example of our countryman Thorvaldsen encourages me. Besides a couple of small things, which have been finished I am working at two paintings for which the subject is taken from Ovid’s beautiful tale about Ceux and Halcyone. It is a Halcyone when she has taken leave from her beloved husband, at the beach and who now from a hill is waving to him who with the ship is soon out of sight, the final good bye. The counterpart shows her sleeping at night, Ceux’ shadow appears to her in a dream and explains his death to her; to give expression to her troubled dream I have placed her maid by the bed, who has fallen asleep and sleeps peacefully. The figures are in size like the figures of Poussin. I almost dare hope that you would be more satisfied with me with these things than with the last ones, I have strived to do what I was capable of.
I feel obliged to express my gratification at His Majesty the King’s bestowing on me this grant of 1.000 rix-dollar. Also my sincere thanks for your good words in favour of me to the King as well as to the generous Mr Nathanson, which has enabled me to work and to whom I ask you to give my regards; as soon as my present works are finished I shall begin on the large one commissioned by him.
I am very sorry to hear that times are so bad back home, it is distressing. May Heaven soon make it good! Furthermore, I thank you for all the trouble you have in taking care of my money matters and with my paintings. I am rather pleased that there are would be buyers or people who are ready to purchase them, which always gives some balance. The painting for the prefect A. Thygeson has been paid with 300 francs. The woman who rests her head on her hand I should like to keep myself although it has cost me a lot, but as the secretary Mr Bang is prepared to pay 130 francs I shall readily give it up; the two small landscapes are 180 francs each. This of course runs up in Danish money, but according to the circumstances it is the least I can accept, the rest I leave to you, good Mr Clemens. Further, I ask you to thank and to give my regards to the noble general C. Clasen who has rendered me great services and has now allowed my things to arrive from Paris.
Please give my regards also to E.R. Berner, I shall soon write to him. I also send letters today to The Academy of Fine Arts and to the Prince. Give my sincere regards also to the good Mr Plötz, Privy Councillor Bulow as well as the chamberlain and other friends and their good families. Next time I hope to inform you more about Rome and about art and permit me here to add something for both my friends Bagge and Møller.
[Translated by Karen Husum]
Dette er et udkast til et afsendt brev. Udkastet er skrevet af efter den trykte afskrift i Bramsen & Ragn Jensen, op. cit.
Last updated 28.09.2016
Den tyske billedhugger Christian Daniel Rauch.
Dvs. Eckersbergs maleri Alkyones afskedshilsen til sin bortsejlende ægtefælle, 1813, Statens Museum for Kunst, inv.nr. KMS1769.
Dvs. det andet maleri med et Alcyone-motiv, nemlig Halcyones Søvn som dog kun er fragmentarisk bevaret, idet den sovende amme af Eckersberg selv er skåret til, så denne del udgør et selvstændigt maleri, En sovende kvinde i antik dragt, Alkyones amme, B209.
Den franske maler Nicolas Poussin (1594-1665).
Den dansk-jødiske forretningsmand og senere redaktør Mendel N. Nathanson, der støttede Eckersberg både ved køb og bestillinger.
Dvs. Eckersbergs maleri Moses lader Det røde Hav træde tilbage og Faraos hær oversvømmes, 1813-16, Statens Museum for Kunst, inv.nr. KMS69.
Den danske stiftamtmand Niels Emanuel de Thygeson (1772-1860).
Antagelig kvindelig modelstudie, 1812, i privateje. Se Emil Hannover: C. W. Eckersberg, en studie i dansk kunsthistorie, København 1898, p. 71 (afb.) og kat.nr. 118.
Bang er ikke identificeret.
Formodentlig Eckersbergs to malerier fra 1812: Landskab under Vandledningen i Arcueil ved Paris, antagelig i privateje, se Emil Hannover: C. W. Eckersberg, en studie i dansk kunsthistorie, København 1898, kat.nr. 120; og Udgangen af Bois de Boulogne til Longchamps, C.L. Davids Samling, inv. nr. 16/1969.
Begge malerier blev solgt af Eckersberg til astronomen Thomas Bugge (1740-1815).
Micael Classen (1758-1835). Legationsråd og generalkonsul i Frankrig fra 1807.
Christian Frederik Berner (1773-1827), etatsråd og kancellideputeret.
Brev af 8.11.1813 til Kunstakademiet, Håndskriftafdelingen, Det Kongelige Bibliotek, Add. 301-2 (IV-34).
Det andet brev er p.t. ikke identificeret.
Miniaturemaleren Hans Heinrich Plötz (1747-1830) som fra ca. 1809 var hofmekanicus i Danmark.