J.L. Lund
København
Bertel Thorvaldsen
Rom
Ingen udskrift.
Dateringen fremgår af brevet.
J.L. Lund is going to send one of his paintings to Thorvaldsen. He encloses a letter from Øllegaard Lundegaard, whom he asks Thorvaldsen to help, and a letter to Freund. Lund and his wife hope to visit Thorvaldsen in Rome some day. He sends his regards to everyone at Casa Buti and adds greetings from C.W. Eckersberg, J.F. Clemens, and others.
Kiøbenhavn d 21e Juli
1822.
Hoistærede Ven.
Da VillenaI reiser i disse Dage herfra til Florenz, saa griber jeg denne gode LeilighedII for at sende Dem det saa længe ventede MalerieIII, og beder Dem at undskylde, at jeg har beholdt det saa længe, da jeg ikke vidste paa hvad Maade jeg skulde Sende Dem det; og Transporten til Søes er usikkerIV, og til Lands alt for bekostelig. Det har hængt saa længe paa min Væg, at min KoneV allerede ansaae det som vores Eiendom, og nu nødigen mister det. At det kunde glæde Dem ligesaameget, tør jeg ikke haabe, men beder Dem, at optage det med Overbærelse i Deres skjønne Samling.
De har efter Deres Tilbagekomst til RomVI frembragt saa meget skiønt. Hvem der kunde see det! for det første tør jeg ikke haabe, at see dette Ønske opfyldt, men jeg opgiver aldeles ikke det Haab, at komme tredie Gang til RomVII. Jeg har drukken alt for længe l’acqua di TreviVIII, for ikke at føle stor Længsel derhen tilbage.
Vedfølgende erholder De et BrevIX fra Mad LundgaardX, hvis Anliggende jeg anbefaler Dem ret meget, da jeg troer at hun trænger til Deres Hielp, og vil nu vente med Længsel paa Svar. Kunde De ikke anvise hende, hvad De har tiltænkt hende paa AcademietXI, og da kunde disse Penge fradrages af det, De har at fordre for Formerne af Deres VærkerXII ; i saa fald, vilde jeg som Academiets CassererXIII sørge for, at hun strax fik Pengene udbetalte.
Jeg har bedet Villena om, at sende Dem dette Brev strax efter Ankomsten til Florenz med Posten, og Maleriet med den første Leilighed. Efter dets Modtagelse beder jeg Dem at betale til FreundXIV de 125 Scudi, som jeg har beregnet Dem her, og dertil 4 Scudi, som jeg har udlagt til Mad. KybritzXV paa Deres Ordre for Strømperne, altsaa i alt 129 Scudi, hvilke jeg allerede for længe siden har erholdt her, af Freunds Pension. Vedfølgende BrevXVI til Freund, beder jeg at flye ham.
Vi prego di salutare Mad: UhdenXVII e la piccola ElisaXVIII, che sarà bella grande adesso, ed anche Sigra ButiXIX, e tutti di Casa, e di pregarli che tenghino in buona memoria.
Min Kone har paalagt mig, at hilse Dem ret meget. Hun haaber med mig, at see Dem engang i gamle Rom.
Med det Ønske at De maatte beholde mig i venskabelig Erindring henlever jeg
Deres hengivne
Luigi Lund
Vi har en varm Sommer, det er næsten som i Rom. idag har vi ikke mindre end 22 Grad i Skyggen. og dertil et Slags Scirocco Luft. Freund vil fortælle Dem hvorledes jeg lever og hvad jeg bestiller.
EckersbergXX. ClemensXXI og hele Kiøbenhavn hilser Dem.
Copenhagen, July 21st 1822
Dear friend,
As Villena is going from here to Florence these days, I seize this opportunity to send you the painting expected for so long and beg your pardon for having kept for so long as I did not know how to send it to you; the transport by sea is unsafe and by land it is too expensive. It has hung on my wall so long that my wife already considered it to be our property and now reluctantly wants to lose it. I dare not hope that it will give you the same pleasure, but I ask you to incorporate it indulgently in your collection.
After your return to Rome you have produced so many beautiful works. If only I could see them! In the first place I dare not hope to see this wish fulfilled, but I do not at all give up the hope of getting to Rome for the third time. I have drunk l’acqua di Trevi for too long not to feel a longing back to it.
You will also receive a letter from Mrs Lundegaard, whose matters I certainly recommend to you as I think she needs your help, and will now eagerly expect an answer. Could you assign her what you have thought of for her at the Academy, then this money could be deducted from what you can demand for the casts of your works; in that case as the treasurer of the Academy I should see to it that she had the money paid out immediately.
I have asked Villena to send you this letter by post immediately after his arrival to Florence, and the painting by first means of conveyance. After you have received it I ask you to pay Freund the 125 Scudi which I have reckoned for you here, and besides that 4 Scudi, which I have laid out to Mrs. Kybritz on your order for the stockings, in all 129 Scudi, which I have long ago given her from Freund’s pension. The enclosed letter to Freund I beg you to pass on to him.
[The following passage in Italian has not been translated:]
Vi prego di salutare Mad: Uhden e la piccola Elisa, che sarà bella grande adesso, ed anche Sigra Buti, e tutti di Casa, e di pregarli che tenghino in buona memoria.
My wife has asked me to give you her sincere regards. She hopes, as I do, to see you again in old Rome.
With the wish to be kindly remembered, I am
Your faithful
Luigi Lund
We have a warm summer, it is almost like in Rome, today we have no less than 22 degrees in the shade and besides that a kind of Scirocco air.
Freund will tell you how I live and what I do.
Eckersberg, Clemens and all Copenhagen send you their regards.
[Translated by Karen Husum]
Apparently, Thorvaldsen did not answer because on 28.11.1822 Lund sent another letter to Thorvaldsen in which he repeated the contents.
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Sankt Anna lærer Jomfru Maria at læse, 1818, inv.nr. B251 |
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Italiensk landskab, Senest 1819, inv.nr. B252 |
Last updated 07.10.2018
Probably the secretary of the Spanish legation Manuel Villena and his wife Mariquitta Villena.
It turned out that Villena was unable to take the painting with him in his carriage, cf. letter dated 28.11.1822.
Possibly J.L. Lund: St Anne Teaching the Virgin to Read, B251, or_Italian Landscape_, B252.
In 1807, Lund lost his first historical painting Andromache Swooning at the Sight of Hector’s Dead Body, as the ship it was on was captured by the British.
Read more about this in Lund’s biography.
Lund’s wife Augusta Lorentz (1797-1871).
Thorvaldsen returned to Rome 16.12.1820 after his stay in Denmark 1819-1820.
Lund was in Rome 1802-10 and 1816-19. He accompanied Thorvaldsen on the Journey to Denmark, July-October 1819.
Water from Fontana di Trevi, Rome’s most famous fountain.
This letter remains unidentified. Thorvaldsen has apparently not responded to Lundegaard’s first letter dated 25.11.1820, in which she asks for support.
The widow Øllegaard Lundegaard, whom Thorvaldsen presumably supported financially 1822-1824.
I.e. the Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen.
I.e. plaster casts after many of Thorvaldsen’s works, cf. the related article Commission for the Academy of Fine Arts.
>J.L. Lund was the treasurer of the “Academy of Fine Arts, Copenhagen in 1821-1832 and again in 1854-1866.
The Danish-German sculptor Hermann Ernst Freund.
Mrs. Kybritz remains unidentified.
The letter to Hermann Ernst Freund remains unidentified.
Thorvaldsen’s Italian lover Anna Maria Uhden.
Thorvaldsen’s daughter Elisa.
Thorvaldsen’s landlady Anna Maria Buti, cf. the related article Thorvaldsen’s Cohabitants in Casa Buti.
The Danish painter C.W. Eckersberg.
The Danish engraver J.F. Clemens.