Tímarit Þjóðræknisfélags Íslendinga - 01.01.1963, Page 111

albert thorvaldsen, sculptor
93
Lave a regular academy to en-
courage the practice of belles-let-
íres, but the son of a tubercular
dittle shoemaker in a small Danish
village makes the whole world read
liis fairy stories. Rome is the center
íor the sculptor’s art, but it is the
s°n of an Icelandic wood carver
who becomes the great sculptor of
the first half of the nineteenth
century. You will find them both in
the index as H. C. Andersen and
Bertel Thorvaldsen.”
This was all the more remarkable
when we realize that Thorvaldsen
wes not an educated man, from
scholastic viewpoint. He had little
schooling; indeed he was a some-
what lazy and indifferent scholar,
hut he was extremely sensitive and
aware. He drank in effortlessly from
his associates, such knowledge, cul-
ture and philosphy as would best
suit his artistic nature, and he was
considered among the most cultured
ar*d charming gentlemen of the
highest society in Rome.
* * *
Let us now enter the Thorvaldsen
uiuseum in Copenhagen. Almost at
°nce we are arrested by the collos-
Sal statue of Jason, the champion
in ancient Greek mythology, son of
-®son and nephew of Pileas, king
°f Iolcus. To keep him from the
throne, Jason was sent on a quest
to lind the Golden Fleece kept by
-®ates, king of Colchis, and guarded
by a dragon. It is universally con-
ceded that this statue became the
c°rner stone for Thorvaldsen’s suc-
Cess and fame. Naturally there were
a variety of forces and events work-
lng that had an influence on the
ultimate acceptance of Thorvaldsen
as an acknowledged leader in sculp-
ture, but it was the statue of Jason
that determined his ability to stay
in Rome and pursue his work. We
will come to this event a little later.
We must remember that Thor-
valdsen was a well known artist in
Denmark before he left for Rome.
He had worked as an independent
artist for some ten years, in wood-
carving and clay modelling from
the time he won the first award at
the Acedemy of Art in Copenhagen.
The winning of this silver medal
was one of the most memorable
events in his life, not because of the
award but because of what happen-
ed as a result of it. Shortly after
the new year 1787 Bertel started to
study for his confirmation. His
father, Gottskálk, who was himself
a minister’s son and of good an-
cestry, although very poor, wanted
his son to be associated with the
children of the better class, so he
sent him to study with Kristján
Friðrik Höyer, the Archdeacon of
Holm Church. But it was soon
evident that young Bertel was un-
tutored, and at best an indifferent
student, so he was put at the bottom
of the class. This was very embar-
rassing for Bertel who was sixteen
years old and tall for his age. The
Archdeacon’s brother was an artist
and told him that a lad by the name
of Thorvaldsen had been awarded
the silver medal at the Academy,
so during the next class he asked:
“Was it your brother who won the
silver medal for art?” Bertel
answered, “No, Sir, it was I!” The
Archdeacon was highly impressed