Vandalized N44

Bertel Thorvaldsen (1768–1844) with the Bust of Horace Vernet

Horace Vernet

This double portrait is a nod to the celebrity of Horace Vernet, who painted it, to Bertel Thorvaldsen, who is shown completing a clay bust of Vernet, and to the friendship between the two artists. Contrasting the formality of the bust with the informality of the sculptor at work, Vernet reflects on their public and private identities as central fixtures in the Roman art world. Though Danish, Thorvaldsen spent most of his career in Rome, enjoying the patronage of its international visitors; Vernet served as the Director of the French Academy in Rome between 1829 and 1835. Thorvaldsen kept the first version of this painting until his death (1833; Thorvaldsens Museum, Copenhagen).