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Thorvaldsen's Plaster Casts from the Antique And 1400-1800
The Danish neoclassical sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen (1770-1844), who lived most of his life in Rome, was not only one of Europe's most sought-after 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...
