Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1885-09-03
THE GREAT SCULPTOR.
THE TRoRvALDsEy MUSEUM.

N Weto WIN vac nina et U'"ef"'N 49,
minister rcrseaan,s OF rher,aidsca h's
Rrsndsaips.
A Copenhagen correspondent OF the
Philadelphia Press writes The second
visit TO Copenhagen was made at the
suggestion Of my friend Professor An
derson, our new Minister 20 the Court
Of Denmark. He had only been IN the
Danish capital week, and had as YET
seen nothing Of the city.
"Brush away your statistics ne
said, "come TO Copenhagen as you re-
turn from Sweden. aud we will spend
day OF two with Thorysldsen and Will
do the city together
A more tempting proposition than
this Il would be difficult to imagine.
Well versed in the language, history,
and literature OF Scandinavia, and the
translator and author of twenty vol
nmcs relating TO these subjects, Profess
sor Anderson, as friend and guide on
such a mission, was Of all men the best.
His reception in the capital Of Denmark
has, probably. been unprecedented.
During my stay in Copenhagen | have
been q frequent visitor at his rooms
and have met there the most brilliant
scandinavian men of letters, poets,
drama,ists, antiQuarians, scientists, and
journalists, to say nothing OF statesmen
and diplomats. lie has been received by
all with open arms, and is looked
upon here as the father Of Scandinavian
literature in the great western world,
an enviable reputation for man this
side Of forty. ! had the pleasure
(honor, l suppose | should Say) OF
meeting the King while here, and found
him a tall, mild-mannered man, with
compact gray side whiskers, not par
ticularly imposing in appearance with
little appreciation Of poetry, science, or
art. but sociable, and, for monarch, |
should imagine. very condescendlng.
lie speaks English indiferently and
apologies for his bad pronunciation by
saving: My son-in-law, as you doubt
less know, is the Prince of Wales, and
really ought to speak better English
than do
lie strollS round the streets of Copen-
hagen. accompanied by two large dogs.
Professor Anderson and | met him thus
attended one afternoon. lie was IN
uniform-a dark-blue coat and light
blue trousers. His Majesty greeted
with marked courtesy our Minister,
and. as the sidewalk was narrow, step
ped into the road, insisting that we
should occupy the pavement. The pre-
sent wear the Danish monarchy reaches
the thousand-and-ffth anniversary OF Ito
foundation under CORN the Old, whose
reign bridges over the interval between
mere sayages and the dawn of history.
Christian N, who represents this an
cient monarchy, Is a man OF pure do
mestic life and of simple habits. though,
unfortunately, he is just now waging a
warfare with his people similar to the
one which cost Charles l.. of England,
his head. The eaSy-going Danes. how
ever, are not likely to 60 10 extremes.
TIE THORvALsDEN MUSEUM.
As the grave Of the great ThoryalS-
den and the repository Of his superb |
collection of works, Copenhagen pos
sesses more attractions than a. city
at least to my mind. The ThOryalsden
Museum contains not only the works,
but the remains of the sculptor. At
least one day should be spent here.
The building, as | have said in former /
letter, is not imposing, the design fol-
lowed being that Of an ancient mauso-
leum. The outside wall-paintings or
frescoes intended to represent Thor
valsden's return to his native city. have
been almost obliterated by the damp /
atmosphere of Denmark, and present |
a coarse, blotchy appearance. In the /
interior there are forty rooms, which, !
with galleries and vestibules, contain
over one hundred works chiselled bv /
Thorvaldsen himself, and these, with /
numerous busts, reliefS, and frIezeS |
modelled by his hand, together with
innumerable objects of personal inter-
est. combine to impart to the Thor
valdsen Museum character Of national
and artistic importance unparalleled
by any other modern art collection. II
is impossible to visit this museum with
out becoming intensely interested in the
personality Of this wonderful genius.
And Americans. aside from an artis-
tic point Of view, have a special interest
in the Thorvaldsen family. Indeed. if
| mistake not, Thorvaldsen was during
his life regarded as the actual repre-
sentative Of the first American Of Eu-
ropean blood, and in view of this was
nominated a member Of the Rhode
Island Historical Society. The learned
men of this Society, 1t appears, had
established the fact that one Thorfinne
Karlsefne had in 1907 led an expedi-
tion to Rhode Island; he had passed
the winter at Mount Hope, and his wife,
Gudrin, had borne him son in the
following spring in that country. The
child was named Snome. The genealo-
gists have traced the descent from Snome
Of Thoryaldsen.
KINGS OUT OF BUSINESS.
However this may be, it is undoubt-
edly true that the sculptor's descent
was as ancient as it was illustrious.
The known ancestors Of the artist were
descended from Harold liildetsn1, King
Of Denmark. AS time passed, how
ever, these kings seem to have gone out
Of business, and in the twelfth century
one of them, Olaf Paa, enjoyed great
renown as a wood-caryer. The father
Of the celebrated sculptor was also a
woodcaIyer, if cutting the rude figure
heads for ships deserves that appella-
ton. His mother was Jutland pea
SAINT named Gronlund. ThOrvaldsen is
described as pretty child, with fair
hair and blue eyes, who came to look
for his father in the timber-yards upoT
the quays in this city, and who was /,
general fsvorite.
His first carving was done in hi
fathers workshops. Fortunately tn
elder Thoryaldsen, though devoid o
artistic training himself, realized tn
value Of it, and, at twelve, his son wa
sent 10 the ROYAL Academv of Fin