C.W. Eckersberg
Rom
J.F. Clemens
København
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Rom d. 1. Febr. 1816
Gode Hr. Clemens.
Med største Fornøjelse har jeg imodtaget Deres kjære Breve af 25 Dec. tillige med Vexelen for sidste Quartal, som ankom hertil den 22 Januar, jeg har tilsendt Dem et Brev derfra af 4 JanuarI, hvori var indlagt en Fortegnelse af Antike Myndt, med hosføyede Priser, for Hr. Geheimeraad Bulow, og tillige, en Anmodning om Penger af Hr. Nathanson, paa sit Malerie, til min Tilbagereise, m.m. som jeg vilde ønske De rigtigen maatte have bekomet, førend De efter given Løfte skriver mig nestegang, jeg sagde Dem ogsaa deri, at jeg havde bekomet Brev fra Akademiet, at samme tillod mig tvende Quartalers Penger, til Tilbagereisen, dette er mig virkelig meeget kjert, men dette alleene vil nok ikke være tilstrækkelig hvorfor jeg ser mig nødsaget, at anmode Hr. Nathanson for Sikkerhedskyld om 150 Specier som De vil see i mit sidste Brev. Ogsaa bad jeg denne at give mig adresse til Comissionairer der kunde befordre Transp. af Maleriet. Jeg takker Dem meeget gode Hr. Clemens, at De har forskaffet denne Prolongation Deels ved Deres Fortale forud for mig hos Prindsen, og Deels ved Akademiet selv, dets Brev var forresten kort om at det havde værdiget at antage Portraitet af Thorw. nævnedes ikke et Ord, kun blot at mine hjemsende Arbeider havde vundet Akademiets fulde Bifald, immidlertid er det mig meeget kjert, at vores gode Prinds dog synes at have været tilfreds med mine Fremskridt. Det vilde have været en Lykke for mig, om jeg havde havt de Bestillinger færdige i det mindste, som adskillige har beæret mig med, for ved min Tilbagekomst, at have lidt at Bosette mig med, men deraf er desværre intet blevet færdigt, de to Stykker forestillende Halcyone, maae jeg nødvendig male paa nye igien da de ikke er efter mit Ønske, og dertil som til det for Hr. Groseerer Knudsen, og Hr. G.R. BülowII faaer jeg ey meere Tid her, da jeg endnu har et lidet MalerieIII at giøre til Hr. Thorw. og desuden nogle Interessante Partier af Coloseet, som jeg endnu gierne vilde medtage og nogle andre Esquiser jeg deels har begyndt m.m. Der vil da kun være lidet eller intet at begynde med naar jeg kommer hiem, men jeg er glad at have saaledes fuldt at bestille. Til intet glæder jeg mig meere, som til at behandle det Emne Prindsen ønskede udført, og ikke mindre at denne saa naadig har beæret mig med en saa skjøn Bestilling, jeg skal her endnu søge at giøre adskillige Udkast dertil. Dem gode Hr. Clemens har jeg dog altid først og fremest at takke for alt dette, da De altid taler for mig. Det Bifald og den Opmuntring De har tildeelt mig i Deres sidste, giør mig høyst lykkelig, og giver mig Mod og Lyst, men De tiltroer mig meere, meeget meere end jeg virkeligen kan, jeg har Grund til at befrygte at det Malerie jeg nu har giordt, ikke saa gandske kan vinde Deres Bifald, thi det er desverre ikke lykkedes, jeg har forandret, giordt om, og ikke er det blevet til noget godt dette har giordt mig meeget Melancholsk i Hovedet og det vil maaskee spilde meeget af den Credit jeg endnu har derhieme men jeg skal søge at oprette det igien, med al muelig Fliid, man er jo ey altid lige hældig, eengang kan et Værk lykkes en anden gang mislykkes. Jeg har giordt en Composition til en Pendent tilsamme, som jeg troer, har sagt Dem, forestillende Moses med Tavlerne. Desuden har jeg giordt en heel Deel smaat Skrabsammen, som ey er værd at opregne her, men som De siden vil faae at se.
Jeg vendter at faae Underretning om Hr. G. R. Bülows Ønske angaaende Medaillerne i Deres neste Brev. Jeg haaber at De skrive mig end engang sildigere hen, f.E. mod Aprill, som et Svar paa dette, og kunde De ved den Leilighed da send mig det Credit Brev paa de Penger, jeg ønskede af Hr. Nathanson til hjelp til min Reise jeg ønskede det saa indrettet, at jeg ogsaa kunde optage noget her. (hvilket jeg ikke har anført i mit sidste) ifald jeg, som jeg ikke endnu kan vide skulde blive opholdt kommer der ingen Forhindring i Veyen, agter jeg at gaa herfra i Aprill Maaned for at opholde mig lidt i Florenz, i Venedig, i Wien, i Dresden, etc. etc.
Hr. Lund er endeligen komet hertil i Forgaars aften d. 30 han befinder sig vel og beeder Dem hilset, han logerer i vort Huus for det første, jeg har egentligen opholdt dette Brev til idag da jeg hørte han var saa nær, for at vide et og andet, han bragte mig et langt Brev fra Ven Møller, hvori denne har meddelt mig mange Ting – den Affaire Hr. E.R. Hansen og Hr. GramIV gefalder mig aldeeles ikke, saavidt burde det aldrig komme –
Vores Agtværdige Hr. Thorvaldsen som med saa meegen Interesse tager Deel i ethvert Brev De skriver mig, beeder mig at hilse Dem Venskabeligt, han har atter giordt 2 a 3 andre Buster, han har siden kort Tid faaet en stor Mængde Bestillinger, deels Buster deels Basreliefer, og deels Statuer, saa han har at bestille i flere Aar, det glæder mig meeget at see ham nu saa fornøyet, og arbeidende med saa meegen Flid, han er og i det mindste efter min Meening upartisk taget, den første Billedhugger i Rom, hvor denne Konst for nærværende Tid Staaer i en høy glands. Det giør mig ret ondt, hver gang jeg seer de fiire herlige BasrelieferV som er bestemt til Slottet i Kjøbenhavn, at disse skal side uden paa Facaden, og være udsat for dette Raae Klimatets Voldsomheder, og desuden i en høyde hvor man umuligen vil kunde nyde deres Skjønheder, til slige Arbeider behøvde man synes mig ikke just en Thorvaldsen men (det er Naturligt) Maleren lader ikke gierne see sit Malerie førend han har det indfattet i en smuk forgyldt Rame og overtrukket med Fernis, Bygmesteren ligesaa han ønsker altid først at faae sin Facade, eller det udvortes færdig det er jo gandske Naturligt.
Endelig beeder jeg Dem at hilse meeget vore gode Venner Dhrr: G.R. Bülow, E.R. Berner, Baron Schubart, G.C. Clasen, Hr. Nathanson, Hr. Pløtz kort alle Venner, men især beeder jeg at hilse Deres gode Familie, jeg glæder mig hierteligen til snart at kunde see Dem igien, man meddeler hinanden dog bedre mundtliigen sine Tanker. Himlen skænke Dem bedste Sundhed og Velgaaende.
Deres
taknemlige og hengivne
C. W. Eckersberg.
Rome, February 1st 1816
Good Mr Clemens,
With the greatest pleasure I have received your dear letters of December 25th as well as the bill for the last quarter which arrived here on January 22nd. I have sent you a letter from there of January 4th in which was enclosed a list of antique coins with prices attached for Privy Councillor Bülow as well as a request for money from Mr Nathanson for his painting, for my home journey etc. which I wish you will duly have received before you as promised write to me next time. In it I also told you that I had received a letter from the Academy, they permitted me money for two quarters for the home journey, this really makes me happy, but this alone will probably not be sufficient, which is why I feel compelled to request 150 Species from Mr. Nathanson as a matter of precaution as you will see in my last letter. Furthermore I asked him to give me an address of a commission agent who might undertake the transport of the painting. I thank you very much, good Mr. Clemens, for having procured this prolongation what with your words earlier to the Prince about me and what with the Academy. Incidentally the letter from it was very brief, not a word was mentioned about its accept of the portrait of Thorvaldsen, merely that the works I had sent home had met with the full approval of the Academy, however, I am very happy that our good Prince seems to have been satisfied with my progress. It would have been fortunate if I had at least finished the commissions with which several persons have honoured me, in order to have a little to settle down with at my return, but I am afraid that nothing has been finished. I am compelled to paint the two pieces again presenting Halcyone as they are not as I want them and for this as well as for that for Mr Knudsen and Mr G.R. Bülow I shall have no more time here as I still have to make a small painting for Mr Thorvaldsen besides some interesting parts of Colosseum which I yet want to include and some other sketches which I have partly begun etc. So there will only be little or nothing to begin with when I come home but I am pleased to have plenty to do. I look most forward to dealing with the subject the Prince wanted made and I am no less pleased that He has honoured me with such a beautiful commission, I shall endeavour yet to make several sketches for it. First and foremost I have you to thank for all this as you always speak in favour of me. The approval and the encouragement you have given me in your last letter make me most happy, it encourages me and makes me want to work, but you have more confidence in me, much more than I actually deserve. I have reasons to fear that the painting I have made now cannot quite meet your approval, for unfortunately I have not succeeded, I have changed it, painted it again, and it is no good. This has made me rather melancholy and I may lose much of the credit I still have at home, but I shall strive to make it good again, with all possible diligence, one cannot always be successful, one time a work is a success another time it may fail. I have made a composition for a counterpart to the same presenting Moses with the Tables, which I think I have told you about. Besides I have made a lot of small things scraped together, which it is not worth enumerating here, but which you will see later.
I expect to be informed of Mr G.R. Bülow’s wish regarding the medals in your next letter. I hope you will write to me once more a little later for example about April as an answer to this, and would you please on that occasion send me the letter of credit on the money I wished from Mr Nathanson as support for my journey, I wished it arranged so that I could also draw some of it here (which I have not mentioned in my last letter), if I, which I cannot know, should be detained here. If nothing prevents me I intend to leave from here in the month of April to stay a little in Florence, in Venice, in Vienna, etc.
The evening before yesterday on the 30th Mr Lund has finally arrived here, he is well and sends his regards, he has lodgings in our house at first. As a matter of fact I have kept this letter for today when I heard he was so close, to get to know various things. He brought me a long letter from our friend Møller, in which this person told me many things – I do not at all approve of the affair Mr E.R. Hansen and Mr Gram, it should never get that far –
Our esteemed Mr Thorvaldsen, who takes such great interest in every letter you write to me, sends his friendly regards. He has again made 2 or 3 more busts, he has recently had a great many commissions, busts and bas-reliefs as well as statues, so he has enough to do for several years. I am very pleased to see him so happy working with great diligence, he is at least in my detached opinion the first sculptor in Rome, where this art at present is at premium. I feel rather sorry whenever I see the four magnificent bas-reliefs which are meant for the Palace in Copenhagen, that these are to be placed outside on the front and to be exposed to the violence of this raw climate and besides at a level where their beauty cannot be enjoyed. For such work, I think, a Thorvaldsen was not needed, but (usually) the painter does not like to present his painting until he has had it beautifully gilt-framed and it has been coated with varnish, and the builder likewise first wants to have his facade or the exterior finished, it is quite normal.
Finally I beg you to give my sincere regards to our good friends messrs. G.R. Bülow, E.R. Berner, Baron Schubart, G.C. Clasen, Mr Nathanson, Mr Pløtz, in short all friends, but I particularly ask you to remember me to your good family, I am looking much forward soon to seeing them again, one communicates one’s thoughts better orally. May Heaven grant you good health.
Yours
grateful and ever
C.W. Eckersberg.
[Translated by Karen Husum]
Dette er et et udkast til et afsendt brev. Udkastet er skrevet af efter den trykte afskrift i Bramsen & Ragn Jensen, op. cit.
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Hebe skænker Herkules udødelighedens drik, Antagelig november 1808, inv.nr. A317 |
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Hygieia giver næring til Æskulaps slange, Antagelig november 1808, inv.nr. A318 |
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Minerva giver sjæl til menneske skabt af Prometheus, 1807 - 1808, inv.nr. A319 |
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Nemesis læser menneskenes gerninger højt for Jupiter, 1810, inv.nr. A320 |
Sidst opdateret 06.12.2017
Eckersberg må huske datoen en smule galt, se hans brev af 2.1.1816.
Dvs. gehejmeråd Johan Bülow.
Her er tale om Bülows bestilling af en formindsket kopi af Rafaels berømte madonna La belle Jardiniere, som Eckersberg havde set på Louvre i Paris under sit ophold der. Denne bestilling fra Bülow omtales første gang i brevet af 11.2.1815 og siden 27.4.1816.
Muligvis Sokrates og Alkibiades, B212. Der kan måske også være tale om et at de romerske prospekter.
Den danske arkitekt Olaus Peter Gram havde fået løfte om arbejde ved Christiansborg Slot og Vor Frue Kirke, da han alligevel ikke opnåede dette, trådte han offentlig frem med nogle voldsomme udfald mod C.F. Hansen.
Thorvaldsens fire relieffer Herkules og Hebe, A317, Hygiea og Æskulap, A318, Minerva og Prometheus, A319, Nemesis og Jupiter, A320.
De findes i marmor opsat i Kongeporten på Christiansborg.