Thorvaldsen Drawings

Identity Statement

Reference code(s)	: GB 0103 MS ADD 77
Held at	: University College London   Click here to find out how to view this collection at http://www.ucl.ac.uk/Library/special-coll ›
Full title	: Thorvaldsen Drawings
Date(s)	: 19th century
Level of description	: Collection (fonds)
Extent	: 3 volumes
Name of creator(s)	: Thorvaldsen | Bertel | d 1844 | Danish sculptor Thiele | J M
Detailed catalogue	: Click here to view repository detailed catalogue

Context

Administrative/Biographical history:

Bertel Thorvaldsen (or Thorwaldsen): born in Copenhagen, Denmark, 1768 or 1770; son of an Icelandic wood-carver who had settled in Denmark; studied at the Copenhagen Academy; arrived in Rome on a travelling scholarship, 1797; lived in Rome for most of his life, inspired by the Italian enthusiasm for classical sculpture; the success of Thorvaldsen's model for a statue of Jason (1803) attracted the attention of the Italian sculptor Antonio Canova andlaunched his internationally successful career; returned to visit Copenhagen, progressing through Berlin, Warsaw and Vienna, 1819; returned from Rome and settled in Copenhagen, 1838; a Neoclassical museum in Copenhagen, designed to house his collection of works of art (the models for his sculptures) and endowed with a large part of his fortune, was begun, 1839; died, 1844; buried at the museum endowed by him; his Neoclassical works were regarded by contemporaries as reincarnating the antique, but his reputation declined in the 20th century.

No information on J M Thiele could be found at the time of compilation, but he is presumably the author of Danmark 1845. fotografisk genoptryk af 'Kortfattet Beskrivelse af Den danske Stat', ed Richard G Nielsen (Odense, Historisk Topografisk Information, 1978, a facsimile reprint of the edition published in Copenhagen, 1845).

Content

Scope and content/abstract:

Two volumes of drawings by Thorvaldsen and one volume of notes by J M Thiele.

Access & Use

Language/scripts of material:
English

System of arrangement:

Conditions governing access:

Open.

Conditions governing reproduction:

Normal copyright restrictions apply.

Finding aids:

Collection level description.

Archival Information

Archival history:

Immediate source of acquisition:

Unknown.

Allied Materials

Related material:

Publication note:

Description Notes

Archivist's note:
Sources: Encyclopaedia Britannica online; British Library OPAC.

Rules or conventions:

Date(s) of descriptions:
1999, revised Aug 2001