Bertel Thorvaldsen

Today we celebrate Robert Louis Stevenson's 160th birthday, an author who has created many vivid pictures in my mind over the years! also...Happy Birthday Bertel Thorvaldsen!! Denmark born, in 1768, Bertel Thorvaldsen was a sculptor. For much of his life he lived in Rome, working in Neo-classical figures. He was the only Danish artist thus far to achieve international recognition and fame. His works are described as “calm and noble”. Thorvaldsen also created many copies of antiques that have an importance in their own right. Living in Rome at the time when Pompeii and Herculaneum were excavated, he and other artists were inspired to depict ancient mythology images such as the one below, Ganymede and the Eagle. The recounts a prince visited by Zeus in the form of an eagle, preparing to carry him off to Mount Olympus to be the cupbearer of the gods.