Thorvaldsen

Jan Zahle

Description

The Danish neoclassical sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen (1770–1844), who lived most of his life in Rome, was not only one of Europe’s most soughtafter artists; he was also a collector. In addition to his own works and drawings, he built extensive collections of paintings, prints, drawings and books – and of ancient artefacts from Egyptian, Greek and Roman antiquity: coins, lockets, containers, vases, lamps, fragments of sculpture and more. He also acquired a large collection of plaster casts, primarily after ancient sculptures and reliefs, but also of works dating from the Renaissance and up until his own lifetime. Thanks to Thorvaldsen’s bequest to the city of Copenhagen, his birthplace, all of these collections are still largely intact and well preserved at his museum.
Home to a total of 657 plaster casts, the Thorvaldsen Museum’s cast collection is unique for several reasons: The collection offers us insight into the sculptor’s working methods and the development of his work because it served a clear function as an image bank of forms, motifs and subjects for Thorvaldsen’s own endeavours. Furthermore, the dual
fact that the collection is so well preserved and was established over a relatively brief period of time makes it a valuable example illuminating the trade and distribution of plaster casts during the first half of the nineteenth century. These areas of study form the central focal point of Volume I of this publication. Volume II contains a catalogue of the
individual objects in the cast collection, while Volume III collects the overviews, inventories, concordances and primary sources referred to in the first two volumes.
Arising out of many years of study of Thorvaldsen’s cast collection conducted by their author, the classical archaeologist Jan Zahle, these books contain comprehensive source material from the period, much of it previously unknown.

Sujets

• Arts visuels
• Arts visuels
• Art

Informations

• Publié par: Aarhus University Press
• Date de parution: 20 août 2020
• Nombre de lectures: 1
• EAN13: 9788772192864
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 74 Mo

Extrait

THORVALDSEN
jan
zahle
THORVALDSEN
Collector of Plaster Casts
from Antiquity and
the Early Modern Period
I
jan zahle
I thorvaldsens museum & aarhus university press
112763_cover_thorvaldsen_I_.indd 1 06/05/2020 09.44thorvaldsen · Collector of Plaster Casts
from Antiquity and the Early Modern PeriodThe Ancients have already employed the majority of the natur al postures,
and if one will not take refuge in distortions and exaggerations lik e Bernini . . .
it is quite difcult to invent something new.
Thorvaldsen, in Hauch 1871, 238
Presso i Formatori in gesso si rinviene qualsivoglia Statua, Busto, Bass orilievo,
Vaso, Candelabro e Ornamento Architettonico formato sul marmo;
delle quali cose sono ripiene le Sale delle Accademie, gli Studj degli Artisti,
non che ornati ancora i Palazzi e le Case.
Keller 1824, 21
Und doch, was für eine Freude bringt es, zu einem Gipsgießer hineinzutreten,
wo man die herrlichen Glieder der Statuen einzeln aus der Form herv orgehen
sieht und dadurch ganz neue Ansichten der Gestalten gewinnt!
Alsdann erblickt man nebeneinander, was sich in Rom zerstreut befndet;
welches zur Vergleichung unschätzbar dienlich ist.
Goethe, Italienische Reise 25 December 1786THORVALDSEN
Collector of Plaster Casts
from Antiquity and
the Early Modern Period
jan zahle I
The Roman Plaster Cast Market, 1750–1840
Technical descriptions by Hans Efenberger
The Egyptian casts by Thomas Christiansen
thorvaldsens museum & aarhus university press · 2020Preface and acknowledgements
Work on Thorvaldsen’s collection of casts was initiated in 2008 d From the vue ery beginning it has been a great privilege and p- leas
to a generous grant from the Velux Foundation. In my applic uratione to b e part of the devoted and friendly team of the Thorvaldsen
a separate, minor feld of study was also listed: copies of AncientMuseum , until 2016 directed by Stig Miss, who encouraged my
Greek stelai in Danish cemeteries frc. 1o8m 30 onwards. The research in every way, as did Annette Johansen, Director since
pioneer of these copies was the sculptor Hermann Ernst Fr 201eund,7. The b ooks has benefted from the generous and m -utual ex
who worked in Thorvaldsen’s studio in Rome from 1818 to 1827, andchang e of information with Ernst Jonas Bencard, Karen Benedicte
from the following year until his untimely death in 1840 he w Busas ak-Jeps en, Nanna Kronberg Frederiksen, Kira Kofo ed and
professor at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts. Throu(ghoutuntil 201 , 1) Inge Lise Mogensen Bech, of the invaluable pr oject
he was a most loyal assistant to Thorvaldsen. The arti stsT’ che l Aosrech ives – a documentation centre on Thorvaldsen, in which
relationship and their shared fascination with Ancient artman, whicy dho cuments of great relevance were published for the frst
infuenced their own art, made the studies attractive. time. My sincere thanks go to Kristine Bøggild Johannsen, who
The grant covered invaluable periods of study in Athens and until 201 9 was curator of Thorvaldsen’s casts, and has b een
in Rome. It moreover made it possible to bring Hans Efenberginerv, aluable with regard to the exhibition, the Danish book and the
the cast specialist from Dresden, to Copenhagen to d eterminedevelopment o f the present publication. In 2016 Kristine Bülow
the techniques used in the production of all the casts. Clausen also contributed to the editing of the book. I am grateful
The research took longer than anticipated. The wo rk o t no t them he all for constant encouragement and many discussions
stelai was completed in 2011, and the study of the casts causfed the rom which I have profted greatly. I direct the same thanks to
protraction. The catalogue work soon revealed itself to b Emma Salling oe a tool f the Danish Royal Academy, who imparted much
only for a frst investigation of how and, not least, w - hy Thorvvital in aldformation about the archives of the academy.
sen acquired these casts in particular. How did he get them? How
many altogether were available for him to select from? How do the
Collaborators:
ones he decided on relate to his art? Prerequisites for answering
these questions were the study of the market and – for comOpalre Hisoa n upt, Copenhagen, photographer
– the study of the cast collections of artists in Rome from the sHans E ame fenberger, Dresden, author of the t echnical
period, as well as of academies of fne arts in Rome and the r deest oscr f iptions in the catalogue
Europe. My frst thoughts on these matters were sketc -hed in a paThomas Christiansen, PhD in Egyptology, author o f the
per given at a conference in Possagno in 2008. In 2012 my resear stuchdy o f the Roman obelisks in Vol. II, Comments 3.
profted from the opportunity to arrange a new permanent e- At the Thorvxhibi aldsen Museum: Liv Carøe, Julie Lejs gaard
tion of Thorvaldsen’s casts at the Thorvaldsen Museum and t Christo ensen, Jakob Faurvig and Kristina Lindho ldt.
write an accompanying book in Danish, in which my approachId , a Hornung diligently curated the ‘apparatu s’ of the
ideas and results were frst formulated. In 2014 the frst drafill tu o strf th ations with ce ontributions by Frida Kuhn Nicolaisen.
entire manuscript was completed.The study could not have been done without the generous he itlp aly: Karen Ascani, Angela Cipriani, Andrea Fe lice,
and encouragement of many scholars in several countries. Alessandra Gariazzo, Ulf R. Hansson, Rome; Silvio Leydi, Milan;
I am especially grateful to the following colleagues who haMaria Lve uigia Pagliani, Bologna; Angela Paris, Valeria Rotili,
encouraged me throughout and generously and most kindly Rome; Siri Sande, Rome/Oslo; Luisa Somaini, Milan; Anna
contributed to my work: Villari, Rome.
Glenys Davies, Edinburgh; Helen Dorey, London; Klaus latvia : Jaanika Anderson, Tartu.
Fittschen, Wolfenbüttel; Moritz Kiderlen, Berlin; Christiane russia : Dr. Sergej Androsov, Dr. Ekaterina Andrey eva,
Pinatel, Paris; Almudena Negrete Plano, Madrid/B erlin; Dr. Veronica Bogdan, Dr. Lyudmila Davydova, Dr. P olina
Monika Meine-Schawe, Munich; Charlotte Schreiter, Bonn; Popova, St. Petersburg.
Claudia Sedlarz, Berlin; Helen Smailes, Edinbur gh; spain : Mercedes González de Amezúa, José María Luzón
Helen Valentine, London; Francesca Valli, Milan. Nogué, José Luis Sancho Gaspar, Madrid.
switzerland : Grégoire Extermann, Geneva, Tomas
The following colleagues have kindly helped me dur ing visLits ochman, Basel, Thomas Rosemann, Zürich.
to their museums or by furnishing me with valuable information
by letter:
I am also very grateful to several archives and libraries austria : Alfred Bernhard-Walcher, Georg Plattner, Vienna.
for their highly professional support:denmark: Tobias Fischer Hansen, Rune Frederiksen, Mette
Moltesen, Marjatta Nielsen, Karen Slej, Jesper Svenning sen, Danish National Art Library, now a part of the Danis h Royal
Copenhagen; Marianne Stampe Holst, Nysø. Library; Danish National Archives; Danish Royal L ibrary,
england: Jon Culverhouse, Stamford; Julia Lenaghan , National Library of Denmark; Library of the Ny Car lsberg
Oxford; Peter Malone, Eckart Marchand, Angus Pa tterson, Glyptotek; Library of Accademia di Danimarca a t Rome;
John Taylor, Marjorie Trusted, Patricia Usick, L ondon; Library of Istituto Svedese di Studi Classici a t Rome;
Michael Vickers, Oxford. Library of the British School at Rome.
france : Florence Duteuil-Viguer, Hélène Guill aut,
Montauban; Caroline Michel d’Annoville, Paris.
Not least, of course, the Thorvaldsen Museum and I are most germany: Bernadette Baronin von Fürstenberg, Nehmt en;
grateful to the foundations that made this publication possible:Sylvia Brehme, Berlin; Wolfgang Ehrhardt, Freiburg; Astrid
Fendt, Munich; Wilfred Geominy, Bonn; Daniel Gr aebler, Fonden for Kontorchef E. Spang-Hanssens legat
Göttingen; Christine and Ulrich von Heinz, Tegel; Olaf Herz Landog, sdommer V. Gieses Legat
Munich; Christiane Holm, Weimar; Zoi Kotitsa, Würz burg; Lillian og Dan Finks Fond
Gerlinde Mühlheim (Kienitz), Neustrelitz; Alfons NeubauerThe N, ew Carlsberg Foundation
Munich; Joachim Raeder, Kiel; Jorun Ruppel, Götting en; Novo Nordisk Foundation
Gertrud Platz, Berlin. Overretssagfører L. Zeuthens Mindelegat
The Velux Foundations VOLUME I
Preface and acknowledgements5
Contents 8
Thorvaldsen and his collection of plaster casts
Chapter 1 Introduction and overview 15
1 The objectives of this boo16k
2 Thorvaldsen among artists, scholars, art dealers and art c17ollectors
3 How to use this book24
4 Ludvig Müller’s catalogue des2ign5
5 Overview of the collection28
6 Size and content of the collection40
The Roman plaster cast mar c. 1ke 790t –1840
Chapter 2 Cast-makers and the collections of artists and academies of fn 51e arts
1 The development of the market in the second half of the eighteenth c54 entury
2 Formatori in Rome in the time of Thorvaldc. 1sen790 , –1840 59
3 A selection of forty-one case studies of the plaster cast market in Rome, c. 163 790–1840
4 The foreign national plaster cast wor c. 1ks 790hops, –1850 106
5 The costs of plaster casts108
6 Thorvaldsen’s cast collection in cont 11e2xt: I
7 Thorvaldsen and the Roman market for plaster c121 asts

Chapter 3 The evidence of technique and bust socles in identifying works ho123ps
1 The classifcation of the mould-made socles for casts of busts fr 124om Antiquity
2 The original models of portrait busts by Thorv 1al27dsen
3 Comparison of the socles of the antique busts with the original models: Workshops and c 127 hronology
4 The mould-makers1 35
5 Notes on the backs of the bu 1sts36
6 Final remarks on the socl1e40s
Thorvaldsen’s work with plaster casts and their importance for his art
Chapter 4 The evidence for Thorvaldsen’s acquisition and uses of casts in R o1m45 e
1 Written evidence of where the casts wer 1e k45 ept
2 Evidence for the acquisition