THORWALDSEX. 137 



worse, and needed no man's assistance in making this judgment; in fine, 

 he excelled all in the art of aptly and accurately expressing his thoughts, 

 of exploring the sentiments of others, of convincing their errois, and in- 

 spiring men with virtue and honor, that he has seemed the best and hap- 

 piest of men. If any think otherwise, let them contrast his morals with 

 those of others and thus judge." — (Mem. Socrat.) 



THORWALDSEN. 



A sketch from the German. 



Modern plastic art has no name of which it has so much reason to 

 be proud as that of Thorwaldse.v. Without him, in fact, it is doubt- 

 ful whether our age could assert its claim to the production of any work 

 of statuary of the highest order or destined to lasting fame. Without 

 Thorwaldsen, we must lliink, that the question of the plastic calling of 

 the moderns could have remained undecided. But he has answered it 

 in the most glorious manner. Canova was confessedly the only modern, 

 who could be mentioned before him and for a considerable time after he 

 had commenced his lofty career; but the spirit of Canova was softness, 

 and his works scarcely ever got out of the domain of painting, thus 

 rather strengthening than refuting the idea of the unplastic character of 

 modern art. Thorwalden, however, had this great advantage over Can- 

 ova, that he came after him. Canova's statue of Pope Rezzonico had beeii 

 finished some time before Thorwaldsen can be said to have had a clear 

 consciousness of his calling, when he formed his first model at Copen- 

 hagen, for which he received the scholar's medal ; and when he com- 

 menced his studies in Italy, taste for the arts, which Canova found so 

 rude, had already by his influence taken a higher direction, returned to 

 the long neglected study of the antique models, and deserted the unnat- 

 ural statuary of the eighteenth century. No one more willingly or more 

 gratefully acknowledged these services of his illustrious predecessor 

 than did Thorwaldsen. 



It is said that Thorwaldsen was descended in a pretty direct line 

 from the Danish King Harald Hildetard, and that one of this race, Oluf 

 Pan was not only a powerful cliieftain, but likewise, according to the 

 songs of the Skalds, endowed with great taste for works of art. Accor- 

 ding to other statements, one of the collectors of the Eddas vvas an an- 

 cestor of Thorwaldsen. It matters not how much truth there is in these 

 legends, for the muses weave their chapters of glory from the leaves of 

 the laurel, not of the genealogical tree. Certain it is that Thorwaldsen 

 bore the stamp of a northern nature of the purest and loftiest character. 

 IS 



