Page:Great Men and Famous Women Volume 8.djvu/105

THORWALDSEN 868 accord, without orders, and the number of paintings that he every year bought of young artists, formed a treasure that he wished to have in his proper home, Co- penhagen. Therefore, when the Danish government sent vessels of war to the Mediterranean, in order to fetch the works that were ready for the palace or the churches, he always sent a number of his own things with them. Denmark was to inherit these treasures of art ; and, in order to see them collected in a place worthy of them, a zeal was awakened in the nation to build a museum for their reception. A committee of his Danish admirers and friends sent out a requisi- tion to the people, that everyone might give their mite ; many a poor servant- girl and many a peasant gave theirs, so that a good sum was soon collected. Frederick VI. gave ground for the building, and the erection thereof was com- mitted to the architect, Bindesbol. Thorwaldsen, in 1838, had attained universal fame. The frigate Rota was despatched to bring a cargo of his works to Copenhagen, and he was to arrive at the same time, perhaps to remain in Denmark. Close to Presto Bay, sur- rounded by wood-grown banks, lies Nysoe, the principal seat of the barony of Stampenborg, a place which, through Thorwaldsen, has become remarkable in Denmark. The open strand, the beautiful beech woods, even the little town seen through the orchards, at some few hundred paces from the mansion, make the place worthy of a visit on account of its truly Danish scenery. Here Thorwaldsen found his best home in Denmark ; here he seemed to increase his fame, and here a series of his last beautiful bas-reliefs were produced. Baron Stampe was one of nature's noblest-minded men ; his hospitality and his lady's daughterly affection for Thorwaldsen opened a home for him here, a comfortable and good one. A great energetic power in the baroness incited his activity ; she attended him with a daughter's care, elicited from him every little wish, and executed it. Directly after his first visit to Nysoe, a short tour to Moen's chalk cliffs was arranged, and during the few days that were passed there, a little atelier was erected in the garden at Nysoe, close to the canal which half encircles the principal building : here, and in a corner room of the mansion, on the first floor facing the sea, most of Thorwaidsen's works, during the last years of his life, were executed: "Christ Bearing the Cross," "The Entry into Jeru- salem," " Rebecca at the Well," his own portrait-statue, Oehlenschlaeger's and Holberg's busts, etc. Baroness Stampe was in faithful attendance on him, lent him a helping hand, and read aloud for him from Holberg. Driving abroad, weekly concerts, and in the evenings his fondest play, " The Lottery," were what most easily excited him, and on these occasions he would say many amusing things. He has represented the Stampe family in two bas-reliefs : in the one, representing the mother, the two daughters, and the youngest son, is the artist himself ; the other exhibits the father and the two eldest sons. All circles sought to attract Thorwaldsen ; he was at every great festival, in every great society, and every evening in the theatre by the side of Oehlen- schlseger. His greatness was allied to a mildness, a straightforwardness, that in the highest degree fascinated the stranger who approached him for the first