HKB
[Sidenote: Thorvaldsen in Copenhagen]
At last, after thirty-three years of absence from home, Thorvaldsen resolved to return to Denmark. On the way he stopped at Luzerne in Switzerland, and there executed the famous Lion of Luzerne, carved into the solid rock of the Alps. When he modelled this monument, Thorvaldsen had never seen a live lion. From Luzerne, Thorvaldsen proceeded straight to Copenhagen. He was received like a royal sovereign. At Copenhagen the artist began his great series of sculptural embellishments for the Cathedral. As completed, they comprised almost all his works on religious subjects, among them the colossal "Christ and the Twelve Apostles," the grand frieze of "Christ on the Road to Calvary," "The Baptism of Christ," "The Preachings of St. John the Baptist," "Christ's Entry into Jerusalem," and "The Lord's Supper." From Copenhagen Thorvaldsen went to Warsaw, where he executed a bust of Emperor Alexander, and an equestrian statue of Prince Poniatovski. This monument did not reach Warsaw until 1829. It was never put up. What became of it is still a matter of conjecture.
[Sidenote: Roman honors]
[Sidenote: Thorvaldsen's friends]
[Sidenote: Sculptures for Germany]
[Sidenote: The Thorvaldsen Museum]
The accidental collapse of Thorvaldsen's studio at Rome, and the damage done to several of his sculptures there, hastened his return to that city. On the death of Pope Pius VII., shortly afterward, Thorvaldsen was commissioned by Cardinal Consalvi to execute a monument to his memory. The death of Canova having left the Academy of St. Luke without a president, Pope Leo XII. himself nominated Thorvaldsen as Canova's successor. When objections were raised that he was a heretic, the Holy Father asked: "Is there any doubt that Thorvaldsen is the greatest sculptor in Rome?" "The fact is incontestable," answered the prelates. "Then Thorvaldsen shall be made president," said Leo XII. The office was held by the Danish sculptor for the full term of three years, when he was glad to resign it. Just before the outbreak of the Paris Revolution of 1830, Thorvaldsen was commissioned to execute a colossal bust of Napoleon I. He entered upon this task with enthusiasm. During the trying times of the revolution at Rome, Thorvaldsen formed a close friendship with Horace Vernet, the French artist, and Felix Mendelssohn, the German composer. Mendelssohn would play on the piano in Thorvaldsen's studio at Rome, while the sculptor worked on his models. About this time, too, occurred the famous interview between Thorvaldsen and Walter Scott. Neither understood the other's language, yet they took a warm liking to each other. Later, Thorvaldsen modelled a bust of Sir Walter Scott. Shortly after the Revolution of 1830, the new French Government of Louis Philippe appointed Thorvaldsen an officer of the Legion of Honor. At the invitation of King Louis of Bavaria, Thorvaldsen went to Munich. There he finished his monument to Prince Eugene, the equestrian statue of Elector Maximilian, and another model of his famous "Adonis," ordered by that art-loving King. For the city of Mainz he finished his model of Gutenberg, for which he refused to receive any pay, while for the city of Stuttgart he made a monument of Schiller. On Thorvaldsen's return to Rome, his stay there was brought to an end by an epidemic of cholera. The government of Denmark sent a royal frigate to Leghorn to bring Thorvaldsen and all his sculptures back to his native land. Arriving in Copenhagen, the old artist was received with even greater honor than before. The Castle of Nysoe was put at his disposal, and there he executed his last works, among them a statue of himself. In his seventy-second year he died very suddenly, while attending a performance at the Royal Theatre at Copenhagen. His obsequies were marked by all the pomp and ceremony due to a sovereign of Denmark. Four years later, after the completion of the Thorvaldsen Museum, his remains were laid in the vault that had been prepared for him there, amid the rich collection of his masterpieces.
[Sidenote: The master's pupils]