Thorvaldsensmuseum

Each of the seven dancing children represents a day. In his final years, Thorvaldsen was encouraged – amongst others by the Danish poet Adam Oehlenschläger – to focus on Nordic mythology, but in vain. “It is cold” Thorvaldsen is presumably to have argued, “so these heroes have had to dress warmly, and the naked is the most beautiful. It is the dress of Our Lord.” As with Cupid, the Roman name for the god of love, Thorvaldsen kept to the names of the weekdays from Roman gods: Sun, Luna, Mars, Mercury, Jupiter, Venus and Saturn.