Albert Bertel Thorvaldsen

Place: Copenhagen

Born: 1770

Death: 1844

Biography:

Bertel Thorvaldsen was a Danish and Icelandic sculptor and medalist of international fame, who spent most of his life (1797–1838) in Italy. He was born in Copenhagen into a working-class Danish/Icelandic family, and was accepted to the Royal Danish Academy of Art at the age of eleven. He was awarded a stipend to travel to Rome and continue his education. In Rome, Thorvaldsen made a name for himself as a sculptor, maintaining a large workshop in the city and working in a heroic neo-classicist style. His patrons resided all over Europe. Upon his return to Denmark in 1838, Thorvaldsen was received as a national hero. The Thorvaldsen Museum was erected to house his works next to Christiansborg Palace. Thorvaldsen is buried within the courtyard of the museum. In his time, he was seen as the successor of master sculptor Antonio Canova. Among his more famous public monuments are the statues of Nicolaus Copernicus and Józef Poniatowski in Warsaw; the statue of Maximilian I in Munich; and the tomb monument of Pope Pius VII, the only work by a non-Catholic in St. Peter's Basilica.