Bertel Thorvaldsen 1814 - 1855

Curator: The work before us is a lithograph entitled "Bertel Thorvaldsen," created sometime between 1814 and 1855. The Danish sculptor Thorvaldsen was a celebrated figure across Europe. Editor: There’s a striking contrast between the smoothness of the face and the intricacy of his garment and backdrop. It is all greyscale but so incredibly lifelike. The level of detail the artist captures in a two dimensional plane creates the illusion that the eye is looking through a window. Curator: Absolutely. Wilhelm Heuer, the artist, understood how to communicate a specific image of Thorvaldsen to the burgeoning middle class of the time. Heuer leverages print culture, in this case lithography and engraving, to propagate the image of the Danish artist in this period. Editor: I’m drawn to how the cascading folds of fabric both accentuate the figure and integrate him with the surrounding pictorial space. The velvety shadows add considerable volume to this form and provide him with stature within the plane of the image. Curator: Indeed, this portrait also needs to be understood within the broader context of Neoclassicism, an art movement deeply intertwined with the Enlightenment ideals of reason, order, and a fascination with the classical world. As a print, it served to democratize Thorvaldsen's image but also served to put the man on a literal and figurative pedestal. Editor: There is an elegance to his stance in this engraving; this pose combined with the shadowing captures an incredible level of realism and invites an intimacy that seems beyond its medium. The cross hatching and stippling employed creates so much texture across the figure. Curator: It is remarkable how this print makes the celebrity sculptor seem familiar. His artistic persona now democratized in this relatively accessible print, and present, within middle-class parlors. Editor: A beautiful dance between light and shadow, texture and form. It certainly invites us in to explore.