Bertel Thorvaldsen, Kneeling Angel In Terracotta

Bertel Thorvaldsen (1770–1844), Kneeling Angel Holding a Holy Water Font.
Patinated terracotta reduction after one of the angels in the Basilica of Our Lady, Copenhagen, created between 1827 and 1839.
Bears the inscription Kjøbenhavn, the old spelling of Copenhagen.
Very good condition, no damage or restoration.
It rests on a later blackened wooden base.

This delicate and rare figure of an angel, kneeling and holding a shell-shaped holy water font, is based on the model sculpted by Bertel Thorvaldsen for the Basilica of Our Lady in Copenhagen (Vor Frue Kirke), a masterpiece of Danish Neoclassicism.
Created in the last years of the artist's life, the two angels flanking the baptistery are considered among his most spiritually charged works.
This terracotta reduction illustrates the widespread popularity of Thorvaldsen's work throughout Europe in the 19th century. Reproductions of his major sculptures, often published in Copenhagen, contributed to his immense renown, on par with those of Antonio Canova.
The restrained style, the purity of lines, and the gentle modeling here convey the Neoclassical ideal of harmony and serenity.

Thorvaldsen (1770–1844) was one of the leading figures of 19th-century European sculpture. Of Icelandic origin and trained at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen, he settled in Rome in 1797, where he absorbed classical aesthetics and humanist thought.
Admired for his mastery of marble and his rigorous pursuit of ideal beauty, he, along with Canova, embodied the pinnacle of Neoclassicism. Commissions poured in from the courts of Europe, the Vatican, and the great aristocratic families.
Upon his triumphant return to Denmark in 1838, he was celebrated as a national hero. The Thorvaldsen Museum in Copenhagen, opened in 1848, remains one of the oldest art museums dedicated to a single artist, housing his studio, his models and an exceptional collection of antiquities.