Complex sentence: His father was a wood-carver at a ship yard, where he made decorative carvings for large ships and was the early source of influence on his son Bertel's development as a sculptor and on his choice of career.
Split into simpler sentences: His father was a wood-carver at a ship yard. Thorvaldsen made decorative carvings for large ships and was the early source of influence on his son Bertel's development as a sculptor and on his choice of career.