THORVALDSEN'S SCULPTURES

Thorvaldsen first and foremost took his subjects from the mythology of antiquity: the goddess of beauty, Venus, the cupbearer of the gods, Ganymede, and the god of love, Cupid, are examples of this. In addition Thorvaldsen created tomb monu­ments for among others Pope Pius VII in St. Peter’s in Rome, memo­rials to the inventor of printing, Gutenberg, for the public square in Mainz and the astronomer Copernicus for a central square in Warsaw, just to mention a few. In Denmark too Thorvaldsen was given major commissions. Best known are the sculptures of Christ and the Apostles in the cathedral, the Church of Our Lady, in Copenhagen.

The sculpture that laid the foundation of Thorvaldsen’s great fame was Jason with the Golden Fleece from 1803. In the eyes of the age, the sculpture marked the beginning of a new period in history when belief in a free humankind created in the light of antiquity was important. As such Thorvaldsen’s Jason stands on the threshold of the nineteenth century, during which the western democracies saw the light of day. The sculpture can also be seen at the City Hall of Copenhagen