Thorvaldsen's Ancient Sculptures. A Catalogue of the Ancient Sculptures in the Collection of Bertel Thorvaldsen

This catalogue, of antiquities owned by the Danish sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen (1770–1844), is the first comprehensive survey of the significant collection of ninety-seven ancient sculptures, mostly unrestored fragments, accumulated over the course of the artist's spectacular career. The full illustrations and learned text are a considerable contribution to the academic study of Roman art. In addition, the opening essay gives an admirable overview of the role of the antiques in Thorvaldsen's practice, career and reputation. The significance of the book, however, goes even beyond the study of the objects and their role in Thorvaldsen's art: it illuminates a number of significant issues in the history of collecting and in the role of antique pieces and copies in eighteenth- and nineteenth-century sculptural practice. It was not unusual for European sculptors of this period, especially those who spent portions of their career in Italy, to possess collections of antique fragments. Perhaps, the most famous collection belonged to Antonio Canova, although since the middle of the eighteenth century members of the English sculptural community (then regarded as in the vanguard of neo-classical taste) are known to have had antique possessions. Joseph Nollekens, Louis-François Roubiliac and Thomas Banks all owned antique fragments. More ubiquitous were sculptors' collections of casts: Peter Scheemakers, like Thorvaldsen, had many casts of individual limbs from antique works.

Aesthetics · Antique · Archaeology · Art · Art history · Danish · Period (music) · Reputation · Sculpture · Sociology · Visual arts · Historical and Archaeological Studies · Historical, Literary, and Cultural Studies · Historical, Religious, and Philosophical Studies · History · Philosophy