Bertel Thorvaldsen
Rom
C.F. Hansen
København
Dette brevudkast må være skrevet umiddelbart efter, at Thorvaldsen modtog det brev af 15.6.1807 fra J.C. Ulrich, som billedhuggeren nævner i begyndelsen af nærværende udkast.
Thorvaldsen has received his advance for the works for Christiansborg Palace and Copenhagen town hall and courthouse. He plans to ship the model for the pediment to Denmark in the autumn. He regrets that Hansen’s budget is tight and points out that the price of the works depends more on the fee of the artist than on the price of the materials. He suggests that the models for the statues of Solon and Lycurgus should be made in Rome.
Høystærede kiære Her Pr-I
Jeg har i Følge Deres Forlangende af den Høye CommissionII faaet giennem det Kgl: Bankekontor i AltonaIII ved S: T:IV Consul UlrichV i Livorno udbetalt; den fornødne Sum: Sc 1000VI. Og finder ieg mig her ved sadt i stand til at begiønde de ønskede ArbeiderVII. Vær forsikret om Høytærede Hr Pro[fe]ssor at det ikke skal mangle fra min Side at opfylde Deres Forlangende; – Jeg vil til den Ende stræbe at kunde til Efteraaret afsende: det til FrontespitzenVIII ønskede Værk. Og snarest mulig at faae flere Arbeider begiøndte[.] Jeg er forvisset om at De, som en berømt Architect finder en sand Fornøyelse i at kunde see Deres Palatser prydede med Konstsager. Og at De virkelig attraaer saadant seer jeg af Deres Virksomhed strax at drive det igiennem, at den forlangte SummaIX er mig bleven udbetalt, men beklager ieg blot, / i følge Deres ærede af 15 May:X / at De saa meget maae tage det Ekonomiske i Bet[r]agtning[.]XI Men siden det nu ikke anderledes kan være saa troer ieg: det at være passende at giøre Hr Professoren opmærksom paa følgende: nemlig, da det ikke er Materialeerne men Konstnerens Arbeide som giør et Konstværk kostbar, følgelig – vil man her bruge Ekonomie da maae man viide at lette Konstneren i Arbeidet nemlig at han kan bruge andre til det mekaniskeXII – Konstner[en] bruger der foreXIII her i Rom / hvor man ikke mangler gode Arbeidere / at modellere Figuren sin fulde Størrelse og saa udført som muligXIV saaledes at Udførelsen i Marmor kan blive for det meste ganske Mekanissk –
Jeg troer der fore at opfylde den H PXV og den Høye Commissions Ønske og Forlangende naar jeg saaledes paa omnævnte Maade modellerer de Forlangte Figurer Solon og LycurgXVI Thi ieg føler at skylde mit Fæderneland som KonstnerXVII: at mit Arbeide bør være min Konge værdig og mig selv altid at bevare min Konstner ÆreXVIII – Jeg anbefaler mig med sand Høyagtelse Høystærede Her Professorens ærbødigste Tiene –
BygningerXIX
Esteemed, dear Pr-
According to your demand I have from the High Commission through the royal banking office in Altona by S: T: Consul Ulrich in Leghorn had paid to me the requisite sum: 1000 Scudi. And by this I find myself enabled to begin the desired works. Be assured, esteemed Mr. Professor that it shall want for nothing on my part to fulfil your demand; – I shall to that purpose endeavour to dispatch in the autumn: the desired work for the pediment. And as soon as possible to get more works started. I am convinced that you, being a famous architect find a true pleasure at being able to see your palaces ornamented with art. And that you really covet such things I see from your efforts to carry through immediately that the demanded sum has been paid out to me, but I only regret / according to your favour of May 15th: / that you have to consider economy so much, but as it can not be different I think it will be suitable: to draw the professor’s attention to the following: namely as not the materials but the work of the artists makes a work of art expensive, consequently – if you want to apply economy here then you must know how to facilitate the work for the artist namely that he can make use of others for the mechanical work – therefore here in Rome where there is no want of good workers [the] artist usually models the figure in its full size and as detailed as possible so that the execution in marble mostly can be rather mechanical – Therefore I think I fulfil the wish and demand of the esteemed protector and the High Commission when in the above mentioned way I thus model the demanded figures Solon and Lycurgos, for I feel that I owe my native land as artist: that my work should be worthy of my King and myself in order to preserve my honour as an artist forever – I commend myself with sincere esteem, the most esteemed Professor’s most humble servant –
[Translated by Karen Husum]
This draft is an answer to C.F. Hansen’s letter of 15.5.1807. The draft deals mainly with Hansen’s proposal to execute the two statues of Solon and Lycurgus in travertine. Thorvaldsen was unwilling to accept this, see more about this in the Commission for the Town Hall and Courthouse.
There exist four short drafts, which deal with the same topic, and in which Thorvaldsen expresses his dissatisfaction more directly than here.
The finished letter is not known, but it is known with certainty that Thorvaldsen did send something to Hansen and/or the Building Commission for Christainsborg Palace in Copenhagen from the next known letter in the correspondence, dated 22.4.1809.
C.F. Høyer
Last updated 19.04.2021
I.e. Professor. Hansen, a titular professor since 1791, did not become professor at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen until 1808.
I.e. the Building Commission for Christiansborg, which was in charge of the construction of both the courthouse and Christiansborg.
See more about this in the Commission for the Town Hall and Courthouse and the Commission for Christiansborg.
I.e. the royal Danish banking office in Altona. The transfer of money to Rome went through Altona, probably to obtain a better rate by exchanging into the currency hamburger banco, see more about this in “Monetary Units”:/artikler/moentenheder and Bills of Exchange.
I.e. salvo titulo, which is Latin for “without title”. The expression is used when addressing letters to indicate that the title is unknown or considered unnecessary.
I.e. the Danish consul in Leghorn J.C. Ulrich.
He forwarded the advance to Thorvaldsen via bills of exchange in his letter of 15.6.1807.
In his letter of 16.2.1807, Thorvaldsen had asked Hansen for an advance of 1000 piastres / scudi so that he could begin the works that Hansen had commissioned from him, cf. the following sentence.
It is remarkable that Thorvaldsen here describes the matter to Hansen as if he himself was not the one to ask for the advance – Thorvaldsen writes “your demand”. A possible explanation is suggested in the Commission for the Town Hall and Courthouse.
I.e. the works for Christiansborg and for the Town Hall and Courthouse that Hansen had commissioned 31.12.1806.
I.e. the model for the courthouse pediment, which Hansen had commissioned in his letter of 31.12.1806.
Thorvaldsen never finished a relief for the pediment, which today is empty. He did, however, make the sketch Jupiter, Minerva and Nemesis, which in 1822 probably became A316. Instead, this sketch was used for the pediment on the façade of Christiansborg. See more about this in the Commission for the Town Hall and Courthouse and the Commission for Christiansborg.
I.e. the above-mentioned advance, which Thorvaldsen had just received through J.C. Ulrich.
I.e. Hansen’s letter of 15.5.1807.
Thorvaldsen is here referring to the two statues of Solon and Lycurgus, mentioned below, which Hansen had commissioned for the façade of the town hall and courthouse.
For reasons of economy, Hansen had asked Thorvaldsen to execute the two statues in travertine and not in marble. Here the sculptor merely “regrets” this, but in reality he was extremely dissatisfied with Hansen’s proposal. Thorvaldsen goes on to argue why Hansen’s proposal is bad, see more about this in the Commission for the Town Hall and Courthouse.
By using the word mechanical, Thorvaldsen is referring to those parts of the sculpting process that could be done by assistants, i.e. anything from plaster casting of the clay model to roughhewing in marble.
See more about the process in Thorvaldsen’s Workshop Practice.
Dvs. derfor.
Dvs. så fuldført som mulig.
Thorvaldsen bruger her verbet udføre i betydningen give en detaljeret, udførlig udformning, se betydning 3 af verbet udføre i Ordbog over det danske Sprog.
I.e. the Danish King Christian 7.
I.e. the statues of Solon and Lycurgus, which Hansen commissioned for the courthouse façade, see his letter of 31.12.1806.
The Athenian statesman Solon (ca 638 – ca 560 BC) was called one of the Seven Wise Men of Greece and is known for the quotation: Nothing in excess.
Lycurgus appears to have been a historical figure in the 700s BC and was known for his Spartan legislation.
Neither statue was realized because of the disagreement about the choice of material that Thorvaldsen discusses above.
It is rather unclear what Thorvaldsen is suggesting here. He is going to model the two statues, but it is uncertain whether they will be half size, as had been suggested earlier, and whether he will then send the (plaster) models to Copenhagen to be executed there.
Thorvaldsen seems to have chosen this vague wording deliberately in the hope that Hansen and the Building Commission for Christiansborg would think better of it and commission the two statues in marble. See more in the Commission for the Town Hall and Courthouse.
This patriotic remark is more than just an empty phrase to be expected on the occasion.
At this point in Thorvaldsen’s career, he had obtained the permission of the Danish state to stay in Rome if he executed some commissions for Denmark there, so as an artist he could be said to owe his native country a good deal.
See more about the relation between the sculptor’s personal freedom and his obligation to his native country in A Free Man. Thorvaldsen’s Continuance in Rome.
In this final remark it is possible to sense Thorvaldsen’s dissatisfaction with Hansen’s proposal to execute the statues of Solon and Lycurgus in travertine. Thorvaldsen obviously felt that his artistic pride had been wounded, see more about this instance of the sculptor’s artistic pride in the Commission for the Town Hall and Courthouse.
This disconnected word, apparently also written by Høyer, has been added under the text. The meaning is unknown.