# Thorvaldsen Medal

The Thorvaldsen Medal (Danish: Thorvaldsens Medalje, Thorvaldsen Medaillen) is awarded annually with few exceptions to a varying number of recipients by the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts and is its highest distinction within the visual arts. It is named after the sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen.
The medal was founded in 1837 as the Exhibition Medal and awarded for talented works in the Charlottenborg Spring Exhibition in the Charlottenborg Palace. In 1866, it was renamed the Thorvaldsen Exhibition Medal (Danish: Thorvaldsenske Udstillings-Medaille), and from 1923 it has been known under its current name.

## Medal design

The medal is executed in silver and designed by the sculptor Christen Christensen (1806–1845) in connection with Thorvaldsen's homecoming from Rome in 1838.

## Recipients
### Exhibition Medal recipients

| Year | Laureate | Winning work | Ref(s) |
| 1839 | Martinus Rørbye | A Turkish notary drawing up a marriage contract in front of the Kiliç Ali Pasha Mosque, Tophane, Constantinople | |
| 1841 | Wilhelm Marstrand | Scene of the October celebrations in Rome (Scene af oktoberfesten i Rom) | |
| 1842 | Bertel Thorvaldsen | Honorary medal | |
| 1843 | Johan Vilhelm Gertner | Stiftsprovst Trydes Portræt | Source |
| 1845 | P. C. Skovgaard | Scene from Tisvilde Woods (Parti ved Udkanten af Tisvilde Skov) | |
| 1845 | P. C. Skovgaard | View of Skarrit Lake (Udsigt over Skarrit Sø) | |
| 1846 | Anton Melbye | Eddystone Lighthouse (Eddystone Fyrtaarn) | |
| 1847 | Jens Adolf Jerichau | | |
| 1849 | Godtfred Rump | Scene from Himmelbjerget (Parti fra Himmelbjerget) | |
| 1853 | Julius Exner | Visiting Grandfather ("Besøget gos bedstefar") | |
| 1858 | Elisabeth Jerichau Baumann | | |
| 1860 | Frederik Vermehren | Huslig Syssel i en fattig Bondestue; en Kone bælger Ærter | |
| 1860 | William Hammer | Grain and fruits under an apple tree ("Korn og Fruget under et Æbletræ") | Source |
| 1860 | Theobald Stein | Neapolitan fishing boy, carrying a pitcher("Neapolitansk Fiskerdreng, bærende en Vandkrukke") | |
| 1861 | Christen Dalsgaard | (En Kones højtidelige Kirkegang efter Barselfærd) |

### Thorvaldsen Exhibition Medal recipients

| Year | Laureate | Winning work | Ref(s) |
| 1867 | Carl Neumann | Skibe under land efter en byge | |
| 1871 | Janus la Cour | Aften ved Nemisøen | |
| 1872 | Otto Bache | Portrait group of the Ræder family (Portrætgruppe af Familien Ræder) | |
| 1882 | Vilhelm Rosenstand | Outside a Brasserie in Paris. Mother and Son at Café Pousse (Udenfor et Brasserie i Paris. Moder og Søn ved Pousse-Caféen) | |
| 1882 | Peder Severin Krøyer | ? | |
| 1882 | Frants Henningsen | A Funeral (En Begravelse) | |
| 1883 | Thorvald Niss | Winter Scene from Folehaven | |
| 1883 | Bertha Wegmann | Portrait of the Artist's Sister (Portræt af kunstnerindens søster) | |
| 1884 | August Jerndorff | | |
| 1884 | Christian Zacho | Quiet waters in Dyrehaven (Et stille Vand i Dyrehaven) | Source |
| 1886 | Viggo Johansen | Evening talk (Aftenpassiar ) | |
| 1887 | Otto Haslund | Concerto (Koncert) | Source |
| 1887 | Hans Michael Therkildsen | Køerne vandes | |
| 1887 | Carl Thomsen | | |
| 1890 | Georg Achen | Johanne Achen. The Artist's Mother (Johanne Achen, kunstnerens Moder) | |
| 1893 | Julius Paulsen | | |
| 1896 | Michael Ancher | ? | |
| 1899 | Ludvig Brandstrup | Christian IX statue, Esbjerg | |
| 1892 | Knud Larsen | | |
| 1906 | L. A. Ring | ? | |
| 1907 | Bertha Dorph | Et besøg hos den unge barselskone | |
| 1913 | Ejnar Nielsen | ? | |
| 1915 | Theodor Philipsen | ? | |
| 1918 | Herman Vedel | Fra forhandlingerne om grundloven 5. juni 1915 | |
| 1923 | Joakim Skovgaard | Jomfru i Fugleham | |

### Thorvaldsen Medal recipients

| Year | Recipient | Field |
| 1926 | Karl Jensen | Painter |
| 1927 | Fritz Syberg | Painter |
| 1930 | Carl J. Bonnesen | Sculptor |
| 1932 | Anne Marie Carl-Nielsen | Sculptor |
| 1933 | Niels Larsen Stevns | Painter |
| 1934 | Johan Rohde | Painter |
| 1936 | Niels Hansen Jacobsen | Sculptor |
| 1937 | Niels Skovgaard Gerhard Henning | Sculptor Sculptor |
| 1940 | Sigurd Swane Mogens Bøggild | Painter Sculptor |
| 1941 | Johannes Larsen Aksel Jørgensen | Painter Painter |
| 1942 | Olaf Rude | Painter |
| 1943 | Oluf Høst | Painter |
| 1944 | Einar Utzon-Frank Johannes C. Bjerg Hans Knudsen Svend Hammershøi | Sculptor Sculptor Painter Painter |
| 1946 | Jens Søndergaard Axel P. Jensen | Painter Painter |
| 1948 | Rasmus Harboe Jais Nielsen | Sculptor Painter |
| 1950 | Jean Gauguin Adam Fischer | Sculptor Sculptor |
| 1951 | Ebba Carstensen | Painter |
| 1952 | Elof Risebye Ole Søndergaard | Painter Architect |
| 1954 | Astrid Noack | Sculptor |
| 1956 | Laura Brun-Pedersen | Painter |
| 1957 | William Scharff | Painter |
| 1960 | Henrik Starcke | Sculptor |
| 1961 | Erik Hoppe | Painter |
| 1963 | Carl-Henning Pedersen Palle Nielsen Axel Poulsen | Painter Painter Sculptor |
| 1964 | Georg Jacobsen | Painter |
| 1965 | Niels Lergaard Jørgen Gudmundsen-Holmgreen | Painter Sculptor |
| 1966 | Harald Leth Svend Johansen | Painter Painter |
| 1967 | Henry Heerup Lauritz Hartz Robert Jacobsen | Painter Painter Sculptor |
| 1968 | Richard Mortensen Povl Christensen Knud Nellemose | Painter Painter Sculptor |
| 1969 | Ejler Bille Paul Gadegaard | Painter Painter |
| 1970 | Wilhelm Freddie | Painter |
| 1971 | Knud Agger Peter Alsing Nielsen Sonja Ferlov Mancoba | Painter Painter Sculptor |
| 1972 | Søren Hjorth Nielsen Erik Thommesen | Painter Sculptor |
| 1973 | Karl Bovin Else Alfelt Willy Ørskov | Painter Painter Sculptor |
| 1974 | Søren Georg Jensen | Painter |
| 1975 | Gunnar Westman | Sculptor |
| 1976 | Anna Klindt Sørensen Gottfred Eickhoff | Painter Sculptor |
| 1977 | Franciska Clausen Bent Sørensen | Painter Sculptor |
| 1978 | Sven Dalsgaard Ole Schwalbe Ole Kielberg | Painter Painter Painter |
| 1979 | Jørgen Haugen Sørensen Dan Sterup-Hansen | Sculptor Painter |
| 1980 | Gunnar Aagaard Andersen | Painter |
| 1983 | Kasper Heiberg | Painter |
| 1984 | Arne Haugen Sørensen Mogens Andersen Jane Muus | Painter Painter Painter |
| 1985 | Ib Braase | Sculptor |
| 1986 | Frede Christoffersen Else Fischer-Hansen Rasmus Nellemann | Painter Painter Painter |
| 1987 | Per Kirkeby | Painter |
| 1988 | Albert Mertz | Painter |
| 1989 | Jørn Larsen | Painter |
| 1990 | Christian Daugaard | Painter |
| 1991 | Ib Geertsen | Painter |
| 1982 | Hein Heinsen Egon Fischer | Sculptor Sculptor |
| 1994 | Mogens Møller | Sculptor |
| 1995 | Sven Havsteen-Mikkelsen | Painter |
| 1996 | Bjørn Nørgaard | Sculptor |
| 1997 | John Olsen Richard Winther | Painter Painter |
| 1998 | Stig Brøgger | Painter |
| 1999 | Torben Ebbesen Jørgen Boberg | Sculptor Painter |
| 2000 | Thomas Bang Kirsten Lockenwitz Ingálvur av Reyni | Sculptor Sculptor Painter |
| 2001 | Ole Sporring | Painter |
| 2002 | Kirsten Ortwed | Sculptor |
| 2003 | Ingvar Cronhammar | Sculptor |
| 2004 | Troels Wörsel | Painter |
| 2005 | Kirsten Justesen Jytte Rex | Sculptor Painter |
| 2006 | Jørgen Rømer | Painter |
| 2008 | Erik Hagens | Painter |
| 2009 | Christian Lemmerz | Sculptor |
| 2010 | Morten Stræde Elisabeth Toubro | Sculptor Sculptor |
| 2011 | Eva Koch Freddie A. Lerche | Sculptor Painter |
| 2012 | Kirsten Klein | Photographer |
| 2013 | Olafur Eliasson Kirsten Dehlholm | Painter Painter |
| 2014 | Martin Erik Andersen | Sculptor |
| 2015 | Per Bak Jensen Viera Collaro | Photographer Sculptor |
| 2016 | Jesper Christiansen [da] Erik August Frandsen Jytte Høy | Visual artist Painter Visual artist |
| 2017 | Finn Reinbothe | Visual artist |
| 2018 | Lone Høyer Hansen | Sculptor |
| 2019 | Eric Andersen | Visual artist |
| 2020 | Poul Pedersen | Visual artist |