Portrait of Bertel Thorvaldsen
1839
Meet Bertel Thorvaldsen, one of Denmark's most famous sculptors, captured here in 1839 by artist Christian Albrecht Jensen. Notice the pencil in his hand? That's a nod to his life as a creator, though he's best known for chiseling marble rather than sketching on paper. Dressed in a cozy blue coat with a rich brown velvet collar, he looks every bit the distinguished Romantic-era artist. Thorvaldsen actually spent most of his career in Rome, becoming a superstar of Neoclassical sculpture before returning home to Copenhagen as a national hero. This portrait captures the quiet intensity of a man who brought ancient Greek and Roman myths back to life in stone.
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