Thorvaldsen, Bertel

Thorvaldsen, Bertel
born Nov. 19, 1770, or Nov. 13, 1768, Copenhagen, Den.
died March 24, 1844

Danish sculptor.

Son of an Icelandic wood carver, he studied in Copenhagen and won a scholarship for travel to Rome, where he would remain for over 40 years and pursue one of the most successful sculpting careers of the 19th century. His return to Copenhagen in 1838 was celebrated as a national event. Most of his sculptures are reinterpretations of Classical figures and themes; he also did religious statues and portrait busts.

* * *

▪ Danish sculptor
Thorvaldsen also spelled  Thorwaldsen  
born Nov. 19, 1770, or Nov. 13, 1768, Copenhagen, Den.
died March 24, 1844, Copenhagen

      sculptor, prominent in the Neoclassical period, who was the first internationally acclaimed Danish artist. Prominent in Roman intellectual and artistic circles, he influenced many emerging artists from Europe and the United States.

 Thorvaldsen was the son of an Icelandic wood-carver who had settled in Denmark. He studied at the Copenhagen Academy and won a traveling scholarship to Rome, where he was to live most of his life. In Italy the prevailing enthusiasm for classical sculpture fired his imagination so much that he later celebrated the date of his arrival in 1797 as his “Roman birthday.” The success of Thorvaldsen's model for a statue of Jason (1803) attracted the attention of the Italian sculptor Antonio Canova (Canova, Antonio, marchese d'Ischia) and launched Thorvaldsen on one of the most successful careers of the 19th century. When he returned to visit Copenhagen in 1819, his progress through Europe, in Berlin, Warsaw, and Vienna, was like a triumphal procession. His return from Rome in 1838, when he eventually decided to settle in Copenhagen, was regarded as a national event in Danish history. A large portion of his fortune went to the endowment of a Neoclassical museum in Copenhagen (begun in 1839), designed to house his collection of works of art, the models for all his sculptures; by his own wish, Thorvaldsen was to be buried there.

 Most of Thorvaldsen's most characteristic sculptures are reinterpretations of the figures or themes of classical antiquity. The Alexander frieze of 1812 in the Palazzo del Quirinale, Rome, modeled in only three months in anticipation of a visit by Napoleon, is an example of the feverish energy with which he could at times work. Religious sculptures include the colossal series of statues of Christ and the Twelve Apostles (1821–27) in the Vor Frue Kirke in Copenhagen. He also made numerous portrait busts of distinguished contemporaries.
 

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Thorvaldsen, Bertel — ► (1770 1844) Escultor danés. A pesar de sus comienzos difíciles, en 1803 su obra Jasón le hizo popular. Su estilo personal se demostró en el friso de una sala del Quirinal que representa la Entrada de Alejandro Magno en Babilonia. Otras obras:… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Thorvaldsen, Bertel — (11/13/1768 or 11/19/1770 Copenhagen 3/24/1844 Copenhagen) (Denmark); aka Thorvaldsen, Albert(o) Neoclassicist sculptor and painter, also an art collector. Friend of painter Jacob Munch. Said to have been a great master in erotic drawings, but… …   Dictionary of erotic artists: painters, sculptors, printmakers, graphic designers and illustrators

  • Thorvaldsen — Thorvaldsen, Bertel …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Bertel Thorwaldsen — Bertel Thorvaldsen mit der Büste von Horace Vernet von Horace Vernet (Öl, 1833, Met NY) Bertel Thorvaldsen (* 19. November 1770 in Kopenhagen; † 24. März 1844 ebd.) war ein dänischer Bildhauer …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Bertel von Thorvaldsen — Bertel Thorvaldsen mit der Büste von Horace Vernet von Horace Vernet (Öl, 1833, Met NY) Bertel Thorvaldsen (* 19. November 1770 in Kopenhagen; † 24. März 1844 ebd.) war ein dänischer Bildhauer …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Thorvaldsen — Bertel Thorvaldsen mit der Büste von Horace Vernet von Horace Vernet (Öl, 1833, Met NY) Bertel Thorvaldsen (* 19. November 1770 in Kopenhagen; † 24. März 1844 ebd.) war ein dänischer Bildhauer …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Bertel Thorvaldsen — Retrato de Bertel Thorvaldsen, obra de Karl Begas (hacia 1820 Nombre de nacimiento Albert Thorvaldsen Nacimien …   Wikipedia Español

  • THORVALDSEN (B.) — THORVALDSEN BERTEL (1768 ou 1770 1844) On a quelque peine aujourd’hui à comprendre les raisons de l’immense succès que Bertel Thorvaldsen connut en Europe jusque vers 1850. On se l’explique mieux si l’on voit dans l’art un phénomène culturel… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Thorvaldsen, Alberto —    see Thorvaldsen, Bertel …   Dictionary of erotic artists: painters, sculptors, printmakers, graphic designers and illustrators

  • Bertel Thorvaldsen — Bertel Thorvaldsen, gemalt von Karl Begas, um 1820 Bertel Thorvaldsen (* 19. November 1770 in Kopenhagen; † 24. März 1844 ebenda) war ein dänischer Bildhauer. Inhaltsverzeichnis …   Deutsch Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”