The Thorvaldsen Museum is a single-artist museum in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan a ...

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, dedicated to the art of Danish Neoclassical sculptor

Bertel Thorvaldsen Bertel Thorvaldsen (; 19 November 1770 – 24 March 1844) was a Danish and Icelandic sculptor medalist of international fame, who spent most of his life (1797–1838) in Italy. Thorvaldsen was born in Copenhagen into a working-class Dani ...

(1770–1844), who lived and worked in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

for most of his life (1796–1838). The museum is located on the small island of

Slotsholmen Slotsholmen (English: The Castle Islet) is an island in the harbour of Copenhagen, Denmark, and part of Copenhagen Inner City. The name is taken from the successive castles and palaces located on the island since Bishop Absalon constructed the c ...

in central Copenhagen next to

Christiansborg Palace Christiansborg Palace ( da, Christiansborg Slot; ) is a palace and government building on the islet of Slotsholmen in central Copenhagen, Denmark. It is the seat of the Danish Parliament ('), the Danish Prime Minister's Office, and the Supreme ...

. Designed by

Michael Gottlieb Bindesbøll Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian and ...

, the building was constructed from 1838 to 1848 following a public collection of funds in 1837.

History

The idea of a Bertel Thorvaldsen Museum in Copenhagen emerged in the mid-1830s. A committee was in December 1836 set up at the initiative of

Hans Puggaard Hans Puggaard (3 September 1788 - 8 April 1866) was a Danish merchant and shipowner who founded H. Puggaard & Co. in 1813. The company became a leading wholesaler of grain and was also active in the market for import of goods such as coffee and e ...

. Its members included

Joakim Frederik Schouw Joakim Frederik Schouw (7 February 1789 – 28 April 1852) was a Danish lawyer, botanist and politician. From 1821, professor in botany at the University of Copenhagen — first extraordinary professor, but after the death of J.W. Hornemann in ...

, Henrik Nicolai Clausen,

Niels Laurits Høyen Niels Laurits Andreas Høyen (4 June 1798 – 29 April 1870) is considered to be the first Danish art historian and critic. He promoted a Danish nationalistic art through his writings and lectures, and exerted a far reaching effect on contempo ...

Hermann Ernst Freund Hermann Ernst Freund (15 October 1786, in Uthlede, Lower Saxony – 30 June 1840, in Copenhagen) was a German-born Danish sculptor. He is remembered in particular for his figures from Nordic mythology and for the Ragnarok Frieze. Biography Bor ...

, Jonas Collin and

Just Mathias Thiele Justin Mathias Thiele (13 December 1795 – 9 November 1874) was a Danish scholar and librarian. A central personage during the Danish Golden Age, he contributed to Danish cultural life in a number of capacities. He collected and published Danish ...

. On 10 January 1837, it launched a nation-wide fund raising campaign. The following 15 men were elected as board members on a General Assembly held on 21 June 1837: H.N. Clausen (190 votes), Just Mathias Thiele (189 votes), Jonas Collin (185 votes), N.L. Høyen (183 votes), Hermann Ernst Freund (179 votes), J.F. Schouw (165 votes),

Gustav Friedrich Hetsch Gustav Friedrich (von) Hetsch (28 September 1788 – 7 September 1864) was a Danish architect. Biography Hetsch was born in Stuttgart, he was the son of Philipp Friedrich von Hetsch (1758–1838). He studied at the University of Tübingen and i ...

(138 votes),

Herman Wilhelm Bissen Herman Wilhelm Bissen (13 October 1798 – 10 March 1868) was a Danish sculptor. Biography Bissen was born at Schleswig in the Duchy of Schleswig. He was the son of Christian Gottlieb Wilhelm Bissen (1766-1847), a farmer, and Anna Margreth ...

(112 votes),

Søren Ludvig Tuxen Søren (, ) or Sören (, ) is a Scandinavian given name that is sometimes Anglicized as Soren. The name is derived from that of the 4th-century Christian saint Severin of Cologne,Portal Rheinische Geschichte"Severin (circa 330-400), Heiliger und B ...

(86 votes), Peder Brønnum Scavenius (83 votes), Heinrich Gamst (82 votes), Hans Puggaard (76 votes), Friederich Ernst von Prangen (76 votes),

Christian Jürgensen Thomsen Christian Jürgensen Thomsen (29 December 1788 – 21 May 1865) was a Danish antiquarian who developed early archaeological techniques and methods. In 1816 he was appointed head of 'antiquarian' collections which later developed into the Nat ...

(67 votes) and

Jørgen Hansen Koch Jørgen Hansen Koch (4 September 1787 – 30 January 1860) was a Neoclassical Danish architect. He was chief of the national Danish building administration from 1835 and director of the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts from 1844 to 1849. K ...

(66 votes). In addition,

Joseph Hambro Joseph Hambro (4 November 1780 – 3 October 1848) was a Danish merchant, banker and political advisor. Early life Joseph Hambro was born in 1780 in Copenhagen, Denmark.Andrew St George, 'Hambro, Baron Carl Joachim (1807–1877)', Oxford Diction ...

Carl Moltke Count Carl Poul Oscar Moltke (2 January 1869 – 5 September 1935) was the Danish minister to the United States in 1908 and the Foreign Minister of Denmark 1924–1926. Early life Carl Poul Oscar Moltke was born on 2 January 1869 in Denmark. He ...

(60 votes), J.H. Lund or J.L. Lund (46 votes),

Hans Christian Ørsted Hans Christian Ørsted ( , ; often rendered Oersted in English; 14 August 17779 March 1851) was a Danish physicist and chemist who discovered that electric currents create magnetic fields, which was the first connection found between electricit ...

(44 votes),

Heinrich Reventlow-Criminil Heinrich may refer to: People * Heinrich (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name) * Heinrich (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) *Hetty (given name), a given name (including a list of peo ...

(39 votes) were elected as alternates.

Architecture

The building is strongly inspired by antique Greek architecture and built around an inner courtyard where the artist is buried. The courtyard is notable for being painted in Egyptian motifs: tall date palms; lions and crocodile prowl among exotic birds and plants. The Egyptian influence on the exterior is more chaste. Here, enormous doors in severe trapezoidal style define the architect's intentions to pay homage at once to

Attic Greek Attic Greek is the Greek dialect of the ancient region of Attica, including the '' polis'' of Athens. Often called classical Greek, it was the prestige dialect of the Greek world for centuries and remains the standard form of the language that ...

, Pompeiian and Egyptian style. It is noteworthy for its unique use of colors both inside and outside. Every room in the museum has a unique ceiling decoration in the

grotesque Since at least the 18th century (in French and German as well as English), grotesque has come to be used as a general adjective for the strange, mysterious, magnificent, fantastic, hideous, ugly, incongruous, unpleasant, or disgusting, and thus ...

style. The outside is adorned with a

frieze In architecture, the frieze is the wide central section part of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic or Doric order, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Paterae are also usually used to decorate friezes. Even when neither columns nor ...

depicting Thorvaldsen's homecoming from Rome in 1838, made by Jørgen Sonne.

Collections

The museum displays a comprehensive collection of the artist's works in marble as well as plaster, including the original plaster models used in the making of cast bronze and marble statues and reliefs, which are now on display in museums, churches, and at other locations around the world. The museum also features paintings, Greek, Roman and Egyptian antiques, drawings, and prints that Thorvaldsen collected during his lifetime, as well as a wide array of personal belongings that he used in his work and everyday life.

Gallery

In popular culture

Thorvaldsens Museum is used as a location in the following films: * '' Alle gaar rundt og forelsker sig'' (1941) * '' Vi kunne ha' det saa rart'' (1942) * ''

Naar man kun er ung Naar may refer to: * Devin E. Naar * Naar, the god of darkness in the Lone Wolf book series * Naar (Encantadia) * The concept of Hell in Islam, see Jahannam In Islam, the place of punishment for unbelievers and other evildoers in the afterlife, ...

'' (1943) * ''

Mød mig på Cassiopeia ''Meet Me on Cassiopeia'' ( da, Mød mig på Cassiopeia) is a 1951 Danish musical film directed by . The story is about a Muse played by Bodil Kjer interfering in a contemporary theater production, who gets as inspired by Earthly life as she i ...

'' (1951) * '' Dorte'' (1951) * ''

Ved Kongelunden ''Ved kongelunden...'' is a 1953 Danish comedy film directed by Poul Bang and starring Dirch Passer. Cast * Dirch Passer - Konduktør Svendsen * Ove Sprogøe - Vognstyrer Iversen * Louis Miehe-Renard - Jørgen Rasmussen * Birgit Sadolin - Ann ...

'' (1953) * '' Kvindelist og kærlighed'' (1960) * ''

Forelsket i København ''Forelsket i København'' is a 1960 Danish romance film directed by Finn Henriksen and starring Siw Malmkvist. Cast *Siw Malmkvist as Maj Lindquist *Henning Moritzen as Jan Scharf *Ove Sprogøe as Carni * Jørgen Ryg as Dingo * Perry Knudsen ...

'' (1960) * ''

Stine og drengene Stine is a surname. Notable persons with that name include: *Brad Stine (born 1960), American comedian and author *Brad Stine (tennis coach) (born 1958), American tennis coach *Charles Stine (1882–1954), American chemist * Charles J. Stine (1864 ...

'' (1969) * '' Olsen-banden går i krig'' (1978) * '' Snøvsen ta'r springet'' (1994)

References

External links

*
Virtual tour of the Thorvaldsen Museum
provided by

Google Arts & Culture Google Arts & Culture (formerly Google Art Project) is an online platform of high-resolution images and videos of artworks and cultural artifacts from partner cultural organizations throughout the world. It utilizes high-resolution image technol ...

* {{Authority control Art museums and galleries in Copenhagen Neoclassical architecture in Denmark Neoclassical sculpture Biographical museums in Denmark Art museums established in 1848 Infrastructure completed in 1848 Bertel Thorvaldsen 1848 establishments in Denmark Sculpture galleries in Denmark Slotsholmen Museums devoted to one artist