Tímarit Þjóðræknisfélags Íslendinga - 01.01.1963, Page 119

albert thorvaldsen, sculptor
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sorry but the master is out of the
city”. One of his friends, King Louis
of Bavaria, who spent long periods
in Rome, would try every kind of
ruse to get Thorvaldsen to “come
for a walk”, or “come for a drive”,
and the sculptor is said to have ex-
claimed: “I wish the king of Bavaria
would go home to rule his country
and leave me to my labours”. King
Louis, who was no mean artist
himself, had a tremendous admir-
ation for Thorvaldsen, and on one
occasion he burst into the studio,
embraced him and hung around
his neck the “Cross of the Com-
niander”, a decoration never before
given to any but the great military
commanders of his own country.
It is no wonder that Bertel Thor-
valdsen was “everybody’s darling”.
He was so modest and sensitive to
the feelings of others, such a good
hstener, so charming and gracious
hi his manner that everyone felt
comfortable in his presence. He did
not seem aware of all the adulation
that constantly poured over him.
Although he had received titles, and
honor from most of the universities
°I Europe and decorations from
hings, emperors and other rulers
and governments, he seldom wore
any of them. It is claimed that if
he was invited to a reception by the
Hing of Bavaria, he wore the “Cross
°f the Commander”; if he visited
Alexander, Emperor of Russia, he
wore the diamond studded Russian
Lross; if a guest in the home of the
French Ambassador he wore the
blue ribbon of The Legion of Honor.
He kept all the beautiful decorations
in a chest, which could be shown to
his women visitors, on request.
“The ladies love sueh things”, was
his simple admission.
At one time he attended a re-
ception to honor Sir Walter Scott,
newly arrived in Rome, wearing no
decoration but a Scotch Thistle in
his lapel. Next day Scott went to
see him and they fell into each
others arms, practically speechless,
for Thorvaldsen knew no English
and Scott could speak no other
language. But their mutual admir-
ation burst out in exclamation such
as: “Sublimissio . . . Hero . . .
Plaisir . . . precious . . . la grande . . .
delighted . . . splendide . . . honour-
able . . .” and so on.
Shelley, who was at best a moody
and melancholy fellow, claimed
that this simple modesty in Thor-
valdsen was merely a pose to in-
gratiate himself still further with
all and sundry, but we may be sure
that it was the sign of a true nobility
of character and unassuming kind-
liness. Even though Denmark, Rus-
sia, Germany, France, Italy and
even the Pope himself had loaded
him with honors, he refused to at-
tach any title to his name.
Thorvaldsen was a foreigner in
Rome and so in order to attain re-
cognition he had to excel the native
artists in his field. Furthermore he
was an heretic, — a Protestant in a
Catholic country, — where all the
commissions for religious statuary
had always gone to Catholic artists.
What a triumph then, when he was
saught out by Cardinal Consalvi to
do the memorial for Pope Pius 'VII
to be placed with other such famous
memorials in the Church of St.