14.75 Inches High x 31 Inches Wide x 2 Inches Deep
Depicted in this relief is the god of music Apollo seated on a rock and playing his lyre, while the Nine Muses dance around the Three Graces. Thorvaldsen originally created it in 1804 in Montenero at the villa of the Baron von Schubart. The Baron was the Danish ambassador to Naples, and he and his wife were Thorvaldsen’s friends and patrons. The sculptor gifted it to the Baroness both for her birthday and in appreciation of the couple’s hospitality. Thorvaldsen would continue to work on copies of the piece (as he often did), including in 1816 when he made modifications to some of the heads and added a swan to the foreground (as in this version).
Artist: Bertel Thorvaldsen
Museum: Thorvaldsens Museum, Copenhagen
Time Period: Neoclassical, 1816
Sources:
“Explore the Collections” feature. Thorvaldsens Museum. Inventory numbers A340, A341, and A705. http:///details/thorvaldsenhisl00thorgoog.