Bertel Thorvaldsen

Bertel was a famous artist. He made statues from stone.

His father carved wood for ships. Bertel learned to make art too. He went to a big school for art.

He moved to a city called Rome. He worked in a large shop there. He made many shapes and figures.

He made statues of heroes and gods. Some were made of white marble. People from many lands liked them.

Bertel went back home to Denmark. People treated him like a hero.

Now his art lives in a museum.

Bertel Thorvaldsen was a famous sculptor. He was born in Copenhagen. His father carved wood for ships.

This helped Bertel learn his craft. At age eleven, he joined an art academy. He won many prizes there. Soon, he moved to Rome to study.

In Rome, Bertel became very well known. He worked in a neo-classicist style. This style looks like ancient Greek art. He made many statues from white marble. One famous work is a statue of Jason. He also made statues of gods and heroes. He even made a tomb for a Pope.

Bertel eventually returned to Denmark. People welcomed him as a national hero.

He left his money to build a museum. The Thorvaldsen Museum holds his many works. It is located in Copenhagen. Bertel is buried in the museum courtyard. He asked to be buried under roses.

Bertel Thorvaldsen was a world-famous sculptor and medalist. He was born in Copenhagen in 1770. His father was an Icelander who carved wood for ships.

This early work helped Bertel learn how to shape materials. At age eleven, he entered the Royal Danish Academy of Art. He studied drawing and modeling there. He won many silver and gold prizes at the academy.

One prize was for a relief showing St. Peter. This award gave him a stipend to study in Rome.

In Rome, Thorvaldsen became a master of the neo-classicist style. This style looks like the art of ancient Greece. He often used themes from Greek mythology for his work. He made many famous statues, such as his first masterpiece, Jason.

He also created a group statue of Cupid and Psyche. To manage his busy work, he used a large workshop. He would make the sketches and the final touches. His assistants did the hard job of cutting the marble. One statue he carved entirely by himself was Adonis. This work was finished for Ludwig I of Bavaria.

Thorvaldsen lived in Italy for many years starting in 1797.

He arrived in Rome on March 8, 1797. Because his birth date was never recorded, he celebrated this day instead. In Rome, he met many important people. An archaeologist named Georg Zoëga helped him learn about antique art. Thorvaldsen also studied with a man named Asmus Jacob Carstens. These teachers helped him find his unique artistic voice. He lived in a house near the Spanish Steps. His workshop was located in the stables of the Palazzo Barberini.

His statues can be found in many different countries. In Warsaw, he made a statue of Nicolaus Copernicus. A copy of this statue sits in Chicago, too. He also made a monument for the Swiss Guards in Lucerne.

One very special work is the tomb of Pope Pius VII. It is located in St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. Thorvaldsen was the only non-Catholic artist to make a work there. Because he was a Protestant, he was not allowed to sign it. This led to a story that he carved his own face on the statue.

Thorvaldsen returned to Denmark in 1838 as a national hero.

He used his money to build a special museum. The Thorvaldsen Museum is in Copenhagen next to Christiansborg Palace.

It holds his marble statues, plaster models, and many drawings. He died in 1844 after a sudden heart attack. He had just finished a dinner with his friends. Thorvaldsen asked to be buried in the museum courtyard. Today, he rests there under a bed of roses.

Bertel Thorvaldsen was a world-renowned Danish-Icelandic sculptor and medalist. He was a leading figure of the Neoclassical period. This movement focused on imitating the art of ancient Greece and Rome. Thorvaldsen believed that true greatness came from studying these classical models. His work often featured themes from Greek mythology or portraits of important people. He was considered the successor to the master sculptor Antonio Canova. After Canova died in 1822, Thorvaldsen became the most prominent artist in his field.

Thorvaldsen's artistic journey began in a humble working-class home in Copenhagen. His father, Gottskálk Þorvaldsson, was an Icelander who worked as a wood carver. He created decorative carvings for large ships at a shipyard. This early exposure to shaping materials influenced Bertel's career choice. At age eleven, Thorvaldsen was admitted to the Royal Danish Academy of Art. He first studied as a draftsman. From 1786, he moved into the modeling school. He also worked at night helping his father with wood carving.

His talent was recognized early through various academic honors. In 1793, he won several prizes ranging from silver to gold. One notable achievement was a relief depicting St. Peter healing a beggar. This success earned him a royal stipend for further education. He used this money to travel to Rome. He arrived in Rome on March 8, 1797. Because his exact birth date was never recorded, he celebrated this arrival date as his "Roman birthday" for the rest of his life.

In Rome, Thorvaldsen developed a professional system to manage his growing fame. He maintained a large workshop in the stables of the Palazzo Barberini. He lived at the Casa Buti near the Spanish Steps. To handle many commissions, he employed several assistants. These assistants performed the heavy labor of marble cutting. Thorvaldsen focused on creating the initial sketches and the final finishing touches. One rare example of his solo work is the statue of Adonis. Commissioned by Ludwig I of Bavaria in 1808, it was finished in 1832. It remains one of the few marble pieces he carved entirely by his own hand.

Thorvaldsen's career was marked by several major international commissions. In 1803, the English patron Thomas Hope commissioned a marble version of Jason. This work was not completed until 25 years later due to Thorvaldsen's busy schedule. Between 1817 and 1829, he worked on a colossal series of statues for the Copenhagen Cathedral. These represented Christ and the Twelve Apostles. He also created the Lion Monument in Lucerne, Switzerland, in 1819. This monument commemorates over 600 Swiss Guards who died during the French Revolution.

His sculptures reached a global audience through diverse subjects. He created an equestrian statue of Prince Józef Poniatowski in Warsaw. He also sculpted Nicolaus Copernicus for the Polish Academy of Sciences. A bronze replica of the Copernicus statue was placed in Chicago in 1973. One of his most significant religious works was the tomb of Pope Pius VII. This is located in St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. As a Protestant, Thorvaldsen was not allowed to sign this Catholic commission. This led to a legend that he carved his own face onto the shoulders of the Pope.

Thorvaldsen's life ended following a sudden heart attack in 1844. He had recently returned to his work after a period of illness. He died shortly after a dinner with friends, including H. C. Andersen. He left much of his fortune to establish a museum in Copenhagen. The Thorvaldsen Museum was built next to Christiansborg Palace.

It houses his marble and plaster works, along with his personal collections. He requested to be buried in the museum's inner courtyard. Today, he rests there under a bed of roses.