Vénus à la pomme

1797–1838

“Restores” the Aegina marbles for Prince Ludwig

In his Roman workshop in the Palazzo Barberini Thorvaldsen “restored” the recently discovered Aegina marbles, adding lost arms and heads. On his recommendation the fragments were bought by Prince Ludwig of Bavaria, the future King Ludwig I; the reconstructed pediment groups of the Aegina temple can now be seen in Munich’s Glyptothek.

1803

Thomas Hope’s commission keeps him in Rome

In 1803, as Thorvaldsen was about to leave Rome, the wealthy English art patron Thomas Hope commissioned the Jason in marble; from then on his success was assured, and for sixteen years he did not leave Italy. The marble Jason was finished only 25 years later, as the master quickly became a very busy man.

1803

Anna Maria von Uhden leaves her husband

As a frequent guest at the house of Georg Zoëga, the Danish archaeologist who had taken the young sculptor under his wing, Thorvaldsen met Anna Maria von Uhden, née Magnani, who had worked there as a maid and married a German archaeologist. She became his mistress and left her husband in 1803.

1819

A triumphal visit to Copenhagen

In 1819 Thorvaldsen visited his native Denmark, and the visit to Copenhagen turned into a genuine triumphal procession. He was also received with enthusiasm in Vienna, Berlin and Warsaw.

1819

Commission for statues of Christ and the Twelve Apostles

In Denmark Thorvaldsen was commissioned to make a colossal series of statues of Christ and the Twelve Apostles for the rebuilding of the Church of Our Lady, destroyed in the British bombardment of Copenhagen in 1807. The statues were executed after his return to Rome and completed only in 1838.

from 1825

President of the Academy of Saint Luke

From 1825 Thorvaldsen was president of the Academy of Saint Luke in Rome.