Tímarit Þjóðræknisfélags Íslendinga - 01.01.1963, Page 110

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TÍMARIT ÞJÓÐRÆKNISFÉLAGS ISLENDINGA
soul is alotted a sphere, be it ever
so humble, for enriching himself
and all humanity.
Some critics, especially of these
latter days would convince us that
Bertel Thorvaldsen was no creative
artist in his own right, that he
merely recreated and polished that
traditional and noble art which at
that time stood at its peak in Rome.
But one must be wary of such judg-
ments, for although Thorvaldsen
was undeniably bound by tradition
and a classicist in his art there was
a rich creative element in his han-
dling of the subject matter, which
is evident in his works. There is not
space to go into details on his
technique here, but we must keep
in mind that at this time after the
French revolution and the Napo-
leonic wars there was a vast up-
heaval in all Europe in art as in
other phases of life. Artists were
trying to rise and unburden them-
selves from all the rubbish and
showiness of the Rococo and Baro-
que periods, and it was Bertel
Thorvaldsen who was one of the
frst to lift the art of Europe from
this cluttered pomp of scrolls and
curlicues into a realm of simple
purity of form and feeling. His art
has always been designated as
coming directly from a n c i e n t
Greece, but there was one con-
necting link in between, — and this
was the Greek-Roman art following
the renaissance, built also upon the
antique Greek style. The famous
Italian, Canova, was perhaps the
first interpretor of this new art, but
Thorvaldsen was his desciple and by
many considered to be his superior.
Self-portrait: Thorvaldsen with the
Godess of Hope, Reykjavík
Thorvaldsen was the a r t i s t,
“higher than all Israel”, and greatly
lauded by the great writer, Hendrick
Willem Van Loon in his book on
“The Arts”. Van Loon rightly con-
tends that it is not enough for gov-
erments and authorities to try to
impose culture on the people from
the top down; for the creative arts
are born of, and nourished by the
human spirit. In this connection he
says: “Not to forget Russia, where
desperate efforts were made to
found a national school of painting
and where some very interesting
work was done, but work that rarely
got rid of the atmosphere of Chauve
Souris of amiable memory. For art
cannot become inspired by royal or
imperial rescript. It either happens
or it does not happen. The French