J.L. Lund
Rom
Rester af grønt segl.
Poststempel: ROMA
Bertel Thorvaldsen
Montenero
Udskrift: Al / Sigr Alberto Thorvaldsen / a MonteneroI. / raccomandata alla cura / del Sigr UlrichII, / Console Danese. Livorno.
Dateringen fremgår af brevet.
Lund has heard that Thorvaldsen is working on the relief The Baptism of Christ, possibly A736, during his stay with Herman Schubart. He writes about the progress of his own painting and informs Thorvaldsen that, with Schubart’s assistance, he has received a grant from the Danish foundation Fonden ad Usus Publicos. He has also got permission to copy a painting of Magdalene. Lund asks Thorvaldsen to visit James Irvine and his wife if he passes through Florence as he himself has been prevented from paying them a visit. Lund sends greetings from Rome and asks Thorvaldsen to buy him some tea of good quality.
Rom d 31d Agosti 1805
Kiære Hr. Thorvaldsen.
I gaar havde jeg den Fornoielse at faae et Brev fra Hr. Baron v. SchubartIII, hvori han skriver mig, at De er frisk og vel, og arbeider meget flitig paa en smuk BassorilievoIV, som glæder mig meget. De vilde forpligte mig Dem meget, om De vilde have den Godhed at takke Hr. Baronen for den Umage han har givet sig at svare mig strax, og tillige undskylde mig, at jeg ikke skriver ham selv til igien, fordi jeg frygter at incommodere ham med mine Breve, uagtet han har opfordret mig dertil, og forlangt at vide, hvorledes det gaaer med mit MalerieV ; om De vilde være so good, at sige ham hvad De troer om [d]et, og at jeg ikke so langt er avancert som jeg ønskede, fordi jeg har giort saa mange Forandringer. Jeg haaber at han bliver ved sin Fors[æt?]ningVI at komme til Rom i Efteraaret, som skulde glæde mig meget. Hr. Baron har ventelig sagd Dem, at KongenVII har giort mig en GratificationVIII af 200 rdl paa en Ansøgning, som Hr Baron har indsent for mig til Kiøbenhavn; hvorfor jeg er ham meget forbunden. Det er en behagelig Efterretning for mig, og disse Penge kommer mig ret til en bequem Tid; jeg har glemt at spørge Baronen om det er nødvendig at svare det Brev, jeg har faaet fra Comissionen af Fonden ad usus publicusIX, jeg troer det ikke, men imidlertid beder jeg Dem, om De vilde være saa god, at spørge ham af, hvorledes jeg har at forholde mig.
Dersom De, paa Deres TilbagereiseX kommer igiennem Florenz og opholder Dem nogle Dage der, vær saa god og gaa til IrvinesXI, og see hvorledes de lever, jeg faaer rigtig nok tidt Breve fra dem, men De vilde alligevel giøre mig en stor Tieneste at see til dem; og naar de spørger Dem af, hvorfor jeg ikke er kommen til Florenz, som jeg først havde i Sinde, da vilde De nok undskylde mig, og sige jeg har alt for meget at bestille, som da heller ikke er LoynXII ; hos Banquieren Donat’ Orsi e HarrimannXIII, vilde De faa at vide hvor de boer.
Nu har jeg ogsaa faaet Tilladelse at copiere Guido’s MaddaleneXIV for RantzowXV, det glæder mig meget, men jeg kann inte begynde derpaa, inden i 14 Dage. I næste Uge bliver jeg færdig med de Forandringer jeg har giort paa mit Malerie, og saa begynder jeg strax at male færdig. De fører vist et meget behagelig Liv paa Monte neroXVI, og jeg frygter for, De kommer til at traktere os, RauchXVII, som hilser Dem meget flitig, glæder sig allerede dertil.
Signra Anna MariaXVIII har været sygXIX, som StanleyXX har vel skreven Dem, jeg var der for nogle Dage, men dengang befand hun sig allerede bedre, og vilde gaa ud.
Om De har Leilighed, at finde good Thee i LivornoXXI, da beder jeg Dem, at bringe mig 1 Pund med, men det skulde være af den allerbeste, for middelmaadig, kan man ogsaa faa her i Rom.
Dersom De vil svare mig paa dette, so skal det naturligvis være mig meget kiært, men jeg veed, De sk[river ei] gierneXXII, og saa lader jeg mig noye, om De bar lader mig sige ved StanleyXXIII om De har faaet mit Brev. Kom nu snart tilbageXXIV, og fornoier Dem vel. Jeg beder Dem for alting, at recommandere mig til Hr Baron; vær saa god hils MatheiXXV,
Undskyld mig, jeg har skrevet saa daarlig, De vil have Umage at læse mit Brev.
| Deres hengivne | Lund. |
Alle ComissionerXXVI Hr Baron har
opdraget mig, har jeg udrettet.
Rome, August 31st 1805
Dear Mr. Thorvaldsen,
Yesterday I had the pleasure to receive a letter from Baron v. Schubart in which he writes that you are well and in good health and are busy, working at a beautiful bas-relief, which pleased me very much. You would oblige me much if you would kindly thank the Baron for the trouble he has taken to answer me immediately and also excuse me for not writing to him again because I am afraid to disturb him with my letters even though he has encouraged me to write and asked to know how I am getting on with my painting; would you please tell him what you think about it and that I have not made the progress I had intended because I have made so many changes. I hope that he will stick to his intention to come to Rome in the autumn, which would please me much. I expect Mr Baron to have told you that the King has made me a gratuity of 200 [rix-dollar] on an application which Mr Baron has sent on my behalf to Copenhagen; for which I am very grateful. It is pleasant news to me and this money comes at a convenient time; I have forgotten to ask the Baron if I am obliged to answer the letter I have had from the commission of the Foundation ad usus publicus, I do not think so, however I ask you to be so kind as to ask him how I must act. If on your way back you come through Florence and stay there for a couple of days, will you please go to the Irvines to see how they are, I often get letters from them, but after all you would do me a great favour to go and see them; and when they ask you why I have not come to Florence as I had first intended then please excuse me and say that I have far too much to do, which is no lie; you may get to know where they live at the banker Donat’ Orsi e Harrimann.
Now I have also been given permission to copy Guido’s Maddalene for Rantzow, it pleases me rather but I cannot begin it until in a fortnight. Next week I shall have finished the changes I have made on my painting and then I immediately begin to finish it. I think you lead a rather comfortable life at Montenero, and I fear you will have to amuse us, Rauch who sends his many regards is already looking forward to it.
Signora Anna Maria has been ill, which I suppose Stanley has written to you, I was there for a couple of days, but then she felt already better and wanted to go out.
If you get the opportunity to find good tea in Leghorn I ask you to bring me a pound, but it must be the very best, because second-rate qualities can be had here in Rome.
If you will answer this letter I shall be pleased, but I know that you write unwillingly so I shall be content if by Stanley you let me know that you have received my letter. Come back soon, and enjoy yourself. I beg you to remember me to Mr Baron; please give my regards to Matthai.
Excuse me for writing so badly, you will have trouble reading my letter.
| Yours faithful | Lund. |
All the commissions given to me by Mr Baron have been performed.
[Translated by Karen Husum]
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Kristi dåb, Tidligst 1804 - 1805, inv.nr. A555,1 |
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Kristi dåb, august 1805 - september 1805, inv.nr. A736 |
Last updated 04.12.2017
Montenero was Herman and Jaqueline Schubart’s summer residence near Leghorn. Read more about the country house and Thorvaldsen’s connection with the place in the article about “Montenero”:/artikler/montenero.
The Danish consul at Leghorn, J.C. Ulrich.
I.e. Baron Herman Schubart, who, like the previous year had invited Thorvaldsen to spend the summer at his country house Montenero near Leghorn. At the beginning of August, Thorvaldsen had decided to go there, cf. Schubart’s letter dated 8.8.1805. See the Thorvaldsen Chronology for more references to this visit.
The relief mentioned here was most likely The Baptism of Christ, possibly A736, which was to be one of the four sides of the baptismal font for Brahetrolleborg Church, cf. A555,1.
That this must be the relief referred to is apparent from Herman Schubart’s letter dated 26.7.1805, in which the work on the baptismal font is proposed; from Thorvaldsen’s letter to Anna Maria Uhden dated [26].8.1805, in which he writes that he has started to work a little; and, in particular, from Schubart’s subsequent letter to
Thorvaldsen dated 16.9.1805, in which he writes that he is going to leghorn the following day to ship “John the Baptist and Jesus Christ’ to Thorvaldsen in Rome. For more about this commission, see the related article about the baptismal font.
Probably J.L. Lund’s first historical painting: Andromache Swooning at the Sight of Hector’s Dead Body, 1803-07. Read more about this in Lund’s biography.
Læsningen af dette ord er usikkert for de midterste bogstavers vedkommende. “Forsætning” giver ikke umiddelbart mening i en dansk sammenhæng med mindre det kan komme ind under brugen af for-sætning, jf. Ordbog over det danske Sprog, pkt. 1. Det er mere sandsynligt, at den i Kiel fødte Lund har fordansket det tyske “Vorsatzung”, der i ældre tysk, var identisk med “Vorsatz”, dvs. forsæt/ hensigt, jf. Deutsches Wörterbuch af Jacob Grimm og Wilhelm Grimm, 16 Bd., Leipzig, 1854-1960.
I.e. the Danish King Christian 7., who was the supreme authority in the public foundation, Fonden ad usus Publicos, which is mentioned below.
Danish “gratification”. Thorvaldsen had also received a grant from the same foundation, cf. letter dated 6.3.1804.
I.e. the Danish public foundation, Fonden ad usus Publicos, which had awarded the above-mentioned grant to Lund.
I.e. the journey from Montenero near Leghorn to Rome. Thorvaldsen spent two days in Florence on his way home, cf. the Thorvaldsen Chronology.
This is probably the British painter and art dealer James Irvine and his wife A.M. Irvine. Among the letters to Lund in the Manuscript Department (NBU) in the Royal Library, there are letters from Giacomo, i.e. James, Irvine and A.M. Irvine from around 1805.
Dvs. “løgn”.
It has not been possible to identify this Florentine banker, but the firm is also mentioned in William Buchanan’s Memoirs of Painting: with a Chronological History of the Importation of Pictures by the Great Masters into England since the French Revolution, London 1824, vol. 2, p. 119
It has not been possible make a positive identification neither of Lund’s copy nor of the original of this representation of Magdalene. It might be a Magdalene by Guido Reni (1575-1642), who is commonly called Il Guido, cf. Getty ULAN. This may explain Lund’s use of the painter’s first name instead of his last name. Reni painted a great many Magdalenes. However, the possibility that it may be another Guido is corroborated by the existence, in the National Gallery of Denmark in Copenhagen, inv. nr. 1265 of a Magdalene with the Ointment Jar, executed 1816-18 by Lund. This Magdalene is clearly not a copy after Guido Reni but is said to be after an unidentified 14th artist, cf. Marianne Brøns (ed.): Ældre dansk malerkunst, Kunstnere født før 1876, Bestandskatalog, Copenhagen 2002, p. 315. It is impossible to decide with certainty whether it is this copy, and whether the original around 1805 was attributed to a Guido.
I.e. the Danish Count Conrad Rantzau, who had left Rome in Thorvaldsen’s company at the beginning of August, see the Thorvaldsen Chronology.
Montenero was Herman and Jaqueline Schubart’s summer residence near Leghorn. Read more about the country house and Thorvaldsen’s connection with the place in the article about “Montenero”:/artikler/montenero.
I.e. the German sculptor Christian Daniel Rauch, who had come to Rome the same year and, like Thorvaldsen, lived in Casa Buti, see also the related article about Thorvaldsen’s Cohabitants in Casa Buti.
I.e. Thorvaldsen’s Italian mistress Anna Maria Uhden.
See also Anna Maria Uhden’s two letters to Thorvaldsen dated 17.8. and 30.8.1805, in which she mentions her illness.
Thorvaldsen’s friend, the architect C.F.F. Stanley, had written to Thorvaldsen the same day, 30.8.1805, and had, in fact, mentioned Anna Maria Uhden’s illness.
There are several examples of similar requests to Thorvaldsen to bring local specialities from his journeys, see the letters under the subject
Purchase by Thorvaldsen Requested.
Thorvaldsen’s reputation for taking a long time to answer letters is frequently mentioned in the letters. See the letters connected with the subject Thorvaldsen’s Unwillingness to Write, and the related article Thorvaldsen’s Spoken and Written Language for more about the reasons for his unwillingness.
Thorvaldsen’s friend, the architect C.F.F. Stanley. There is no known letter from Thorvaldsen to Lund or Stanley, in which he acknowledges receipt of the letter. Judging from Stanley’s letter dated 7.9.1805, he had not received any letter from Thorvaldsen.
Thorvaldsen returned to Rome 21.9.1805.
I.e. the German painter Friedrich Matthäi, who stayed at Montenero the same summer. During his stay, Matthäi portrayed his hosts Herman and Jacqueline Schubart in a portrait now lost.
It is not known what commissions Herman Schubart had asked Lund to perform for him.