Marble Sculpture Of The Grand Tour Lucerne Lion - 19th Century

MARBLE SCULPTURE OF THE GRAND TOUR LUCERNE LION - 19th century

By Bertel Thorvaldsen: A finely carved serpentine marble Lucerne Lion. In 1818-19, the renowned Danish sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen (1770-1844) created a model for a monument to the Swiss Guards who fought in Paris to defend King Louis XVI during the storming of the Tuileries Palace by revolutionary forces on August 10, 1792. The monument, the Dying Lion (the Lion of Lucerne), was eventually carved in colossal proportions, following Thorvaldsen's model, directly into the rock face of the Glacier Garden in Lucerne, where it was unveiled in 1821. Dating from the last quarter of the 19th century, our serpentine model is a typical souvenir of a Grand Tour to Italy and Switzerland. Thorvaldsen worked extensively in Italy, where he was considered by Grand Tour travelers to be the most important sculptor of the Neoclassical and early Romantic periods, along with the Italian sculptor Antonio Canova. Origin: Italy Period: Last quarter of the 19th century Dimensions: 23.5 x 11.5 cm - height 13 cm