The Triumph of Art at Thorvaldsens Museum (2005)

The Triumph of Art at Thorvaldsens Museum: ‘Løve’ in Copenhagen by John G. W. Henderson was published by Museum Tusculanum Press in 2005. While the title seems clear enough, the subtitle calls for an explanation, and one will be offered in due course.

John Henderson is Professor of Classics at the University of Cambridge and a Fellow of King’s College. This is what we are told on the back cover of the book. However, since the book was published, he has retired. On Cambridge University’s website, he is identified as Emeritus Professor of Classics.

The foreword is written by Stig Miss, who is the current director of Thorvaldsens Museum. As you can see, the name of the institution is written without an apostrophe, because it is the Danish name.

A British scholar has written a book about a Danish museum. But the focus is not on the numerous works of art that are on display inside the museum. Nor is it a new biography about the famous artist. The focus is on the building that houses his collections. To be more specific, it is about the frieze that is painted on three of the four exterior walls. Really? Can he write a whole book about the walls of a building? It sounds rather strange, but once you get into this world, I think you will find that there is a lot to say about this topic. This frieze is worth a detailed study. Here is what the author says in his introduction:

“This is a book about the outside of a museum. It may sound odd, first off, but in no time at all you’ll find yourself agreeing that the particular exterior we shall explore does grace one of the most characterful buildings you can visit anywhere.”

Further on he adds:

“Here is a feast of striking images, a strong narrative line, and a telling prompt to get real about all the ways in which people interact with statues, and statues with people.”

Finally he says:

“A brightly-coloured frieze wraps around the walls of the Museum, showing scenes that celebrate the saga of its foundation. All the city turns out, afloat or ashore, to welcome the fêted genius back home for retirement and heroization; and a shipment of his masterpieces is displayed in process of unloading and transportation into the museum, where, to this day, they await the visitor in the galleries inside. The murals are lovely compositions, rich in detail and nuance. They bring together in civilised Copenhagen an ensemble of striking images that celebrate a genuinely pan-European civilisation. Their clean-cut classicism presents a thoughtful and challenging homage to art and artist embedded within this culture.”

The main text is divided into four chapters. Here is the table of contents:

CHAPTER ONE. Welcome to Thorvaldsens Museum

*** The Story of the Artist and his Legacy

CHAPTER TWO. Walls and Images

*** Reading the Murals of the Museum

CHAPTER THREE. Copenhagen is not Paris

*** Myth, Ideology, and Politics Visualised in a Classical Tradition

CHAPTER FOUR. ‘Løve i København’

*** Tribute to the Artist as Hero

At the end of the book we find notes with references and additional comments, a bibliography, an index of works of art and monuments, and a general index.

The book is beautifully illustrated. Some illustrations are line drawings in black-and-white, while all new photos are in colour.

As you can see from the table of contents, chapter one offers a brief summary of Thorvaldsen’s life and his works, while chapter two gives a presentation and an interpretation of the frieze on the exterior walls of the museum.

In chapter three Henderson tries to place the frieze in context. He mentions three relevant precedents: the frieze of the Parthenon in Athens, the reliefs on the Arch of Titus in Rome, and Napoleon’s spoils from Italy. The French emperor’s spoils are shown in six illustrations:

** Figure 12: the spoils leaving Italy

** Figure 13: the spoils arriving in Paris

** Figure 14: the spoils arriving at the emperor’s museum (a vase)

** Figures 31-33: the spoils arriving at the emperor’s museum (a sketch)

In chapter four Henderson explains the subtitle of the book: ‘Løve’ in Copenhagen. “Løve” is the Danish word for Lion. But who is the lion, and what is it doing in Copenhagen? An answer will be given later, at the appropriate moment.

First I will offer some basic information about the museum and the frieze. Thorvaldsen returned to Denmark in September 1838. The museum was built in the following ten years (1839-1848). The man in charge was architect M. G. Bindesbøll (1800-1856). The frieze was created in three stages, between 1846 and 1850. The man in charge was painter Jørgen Sonne (1801-1890):

STAGE ONE

The south wall facing parliament (Christiansborg). The work on this section, which comprises panels 30-50, took place 1846-1847. The theme: the monuments are being carried into the museum. I call this section 2.

STAGE TWO

The north wall facing the canal. The work on this section, which comprises panels 22-1, took place 1847-1848. The theme: Thorvaldsen is welcomed home by a flotilla of row boats in Copenhagen harbor. I call this section 3, because it is the culmination of the frieze.

STAGE THREE

The east wall facing the church (Slotskirken). The work on this section, which comprises panels 23-29, took place 1849-1850. The theme: the monuments are loaded from the frigate ‘Rota’ to a barge and onto dry land. I call this section 1. From here you can go left to section 2 or right to section 3.

AN INTERESTING BOOK

Henderson has written an interesting book about an interesting work of art. Before turning to the frieze, he offers some background so the reader will understand the time and the place. The frieze itself is carefully studied. He has a good eye for details, but he is also able to give us a broad view of the whole project.

He gives a presentation and an interpretation. He will tell us not only what we can see. He will also ask: what does it mean? Why is it there? What is the point? What is the reason?

The text is well-written; it has a good flow. There is an illustration of everything that is mentioned in the text. It is a quick read. The main text covers less than one hundred pages. It is illuminating, it is instructive.

Once you have read this slim volume, you will understand the meaning and the message of the frieze. You will know where the inspiration came from, and you will know it is not just a modern copy of an ancient work of art. It was modified to fit the world of Denmark in and around the year 1848, which was incidentally a turbulent chapter in the history of this country: the absolute monarchy was replaced with a constitutional monarchy, which is still in place.

Henderson loves the frieze that is wrapped around the museum. This is no secret. This is why he had to write this book. I understand him. I love the frieze as well. It offers a wonderful kaleidoscope of Copenhagen and Denmark in and around the pivotal year 1848.

Henderson has many good observations. One of them comes when he describes the frieze as “Dickensian.” He uses this word two times, on page 49 and again on page 87. All social classes of society are shown. Whether we like what we see or not, is not relevant. The point is that we get to see the upper class, the middle class, and the lower class.

Sonne’s frieze can be compared with a triumph in ancient Rome, where Thorvaldsen is the imperator, the flotilla of rowboats on the north wall represents his jubilant army, while the monuments that are carried into the museum on the south wall represent the spoils of war. But the parallel is not completely accurate. Thorvaldsen is no general, he is an artist. Furthermore, he did not steal the monuments, he created them. As Henderson says in chapter three: Copenhagen is not Paris.

I like this book. It is easy to say something positive about it. I would like to give it five stars, but I cannot do that, because while I was reading and enjoying it, I also discovered that it has some flaws.

THE FIRST PROBLEM: THE LAYOUT

Text and illustration do not follow each other. To give just one example, the boy who fell overboard is shown on page 44, where we have panels 22, 21, and 20. But the text about this episode is found on pp. 50-51. In order to compare one with the other, the reader must flip several pages back and forth. This is not the right way. This is not how it should be done.

The text that belongs to a certain illustration should be placed next to it so the reader can see both at the same time, without having to turn the page. A good and simple system would be to place the illustrations on the left-hand pages and the relevant text on the right-hand pages. Sadly, this is not what we have here.

The frieze appears as a long-running band on the top of the pages in chapter two. This may give us an idea of what the frieze looks like, but it is not helpful when you have to write a commentary. On one double spread, for instance pp. 44-45, there are nine panels. It is not possible to present the information that is relevant for these nine panels in the space below them. This means the text runs away from the illustration.

Apart from the author many other people were involved in the production of this book. I cannot understand why none of them could see that the layout chosen is most unfortunate.

All 50 panels are shown as line drawings in black-and-white. In addition, section 3 – with panels 30-50 on the south wall - is shown with modern colour photos.

THE SECOND PROBLEM: HENDERSON’S APPROACH

When reading the frieze, Henderson will jump back and forth among the panels. He is not systematic. He does not take them one by one, as he should. The lion, which appears in panel 50, is not even discussed in chapter two. It is postponed until chapter four.

Moreover, Henderson does not always say all that can be said about a panel. Some characters are anonymous, but several can be identified. I think he should mention every person who can be identified, but he does not do that. I want to know who they are. I also want to know if they were in Copenhagen in September 1838 or not. Henderson does not provide this information in a systematic way.

He could easily have done this. In his source, a lithography published in 1889, the names of characters who can be identified are written below each panel, but in his book the size of the original illustrations has been reduced so much that it is in most cases impossible to read the letters.

Regarding the east wall, panels 23-29: nobody is overlooked.

Regarding the south wall, panels 30-50: Henderson mentions M. G. Bindesbøll, who is standing on the top of the staircase. But he does not mention J. H. Lund, chief of construction, who is standing next to him. Why not?

Regarding the north wall, panels 22-1: several characters who can be identified are overlooked. Henderson fails to mention:

** Martin Hammerich (1811-1881) - panel 17

** Johanne Luise Heiberg (1812-1890) - panel 14

** Two politicians, Orla Lehman and L. N. Hvidt - panel 12 (Henderson says we have a boat with “Men of Learning,” but he fails to give any names)

** Jørgen Sonne and his brother Edward Sonne - panel 6 (the artist placed himself and his brother in a boat, even though none of them were present in Copenhagen in September 1838 when Thorvaldsen returned to Denmark; it is a case of artistic license)

** The Puggaard family - panel 5

The Stampe family appears in panel 4. Henderson mentions this family, because they were patrons of Thorvaldsen during his last years in Denmark, but he fails to identify the four family members one by one.

In panel 1, many characters can be identified, but Henderson mentions only a few of them. H. W. Bissen, creator of the Victory chariot placed on the roof of the museum, is mentioned several times in this book. He appears in panel 1, but Henderson does not tell us about it. This panel is the most important in this section, because it is the culmination of the welcome. Obviously, it would be a good idea to say as much about it as possible, which includes identifying as many characters as possible (and explaining why they are included).

As stated above, Henderson has a good eye for detail. On page 40 he mentions a family connection between Bissen and Sonne:

“Bissen (from 1852, Sonne’s brother-in-law: small country…) had conjured up the Victory chariot…”

However, not all relevant family connections are mentioned: M. G. Bindesbøll was the nephew of Jonas Collin, a high ranking official, who played an important role in the creation of Thorvaldsens Museum. Collin (1776-1861) is shown in panel 1, but he is not mentioned anywhere in this book.

Here is another example: Maria Puggaard is seen in panel 5. In 1844 she married Orla Lehmann, who is seen in panel 12. Neither of them is mentioned by name.

THE THIRD PROBLEM: THE LION

Henderson postpones this topic every time it pops up, and I have done the same in this review to show you just how annoying it is. The lion is the subject of chapter four. The statue of the lion can be seen in panel 50, the last panel on the south wall.

We know this motive is important even before we start reading. On the front cover we have panel 1 where Thorvaldsen comes ashore. On the back cover we have panel 50 where the statue of the lion is being moved into the museum. Since these motives are placed on the covers, they must be very important.

As Henderson finally explains in chapter four, the lion is the Lucerne Lion, also known as the Dying Lion Protecting the Royal Arms of France. On page 91 Henderson gives the following background:

“Back in 1792 [in] Paris during the Terror, the royal Swiss Guard billeted on the Tuileries went down fighting the French revolutionaries to the last man. In 1819 Thorvaldsen was approached for a monument, and a colossal version of his idea was duly hacked out of the side of a cliff at Lucerne (1821, by L. Ahorn).”

The monument is still there; it is an important attraction in Lucerne.

In other words: the lion is a symbol of the brave soldiers who fought and died rather than surrender to the enemy. And in the long procession of monuments on the south wall the lion is the first. Why is that? On page 92 Henderson says:

“… the sculptor is the lion he must be, and must be the lion he is. There is no other way to be first and foremost; a ‘King’ he must be.”

The lion is the king of the animal kingdom and Thorvaldsen was the king of art in the nineteenth century. While I like and accept this interpretation, I have to point out that Henderson makes a factual mistake when he claims the Swiss Guard “went down fighting the French revolutionaries to the last man.”

An inscription placed below the monument in Lucerne tells us how many died and how many survived. Here are the numbers:

** Died: 26 officers and 760 soldiers. Total 786.

** Survived: 16 officers and 350 soldiers. Total 366.

If Henderson had spent a few minutes digging for the truth, he might have avoided this factual mistake. It is not necessary to go all the way to Switzerland. You can look it up on the internet. It is a shame he did not do that.

CONCLUSION

In a way I can understand why Henderson wanted to postpone discussion of the lion until the last chapter. But I still think it is an unfortunate decision. He should have said everything he wanted to say about panel 50 in chapter two.

When we get to the end of the book we finally understand the subtitle: ‘Løve’ in Copenhagen (or the Lion in Copenhagen) is a metaphor for what we see on the walls of the museum: the triumphant return of Thorvaldsen – the king of art – to Copenhagen.

Making critical remarks does not mean that I do not like this book. I do like it. But as you can see, there are some flaws here, and therefore I cannot give it five stars. I believe four stars is a fair conclusion.

PS # 1. Amazon charges more than 30 British pounds for this book. I think it is a high price. I know it is a hardcover book, and you must pay for this, but the total number of pages is only 120.

PS # 2. For more information, see the official website of Thorvaldsens Museum, which comes in two versions: in Danish and in English.

PS # 3. There is an interesting chapter about Thorvaldsens Museum and the frieze in a book written by the Danish historian Jens Engberg: Power and Culture (published in three volumes in 2005). Unfortunately, this book is only available in Danish. The Danish title is Magten og kulturen. The chapter about the museum is in volume 2, pp. 112-128.

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John G. W. Henderson,
The Triumph of Art at Thorvaldsens Museum:
'Løve' in Copenhagen,
Museum Tusculanum Press, 2005, 120 pages

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George Henderson, Emeritus Professor of Classics at Cambridge University

This picture is borrowed from Cambridge University’s website

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For more information, see my blog:

Thorvaldsen’s Museum

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