the monument subsequently erected to that poet in
the library of Trinity College, Cambridge.

[Sidenote: "The Lion of Luzerne"]

[Sidenote: Thorvaldsen in Copenhagen]

At last, after thirty-three years of absence from home, Thorvaldsen
resolved to return to Denmark. On the way he stopped at Luzerne in
Switzerland, and there executed the famous Lion of Luzerne, carved into the
solid rock of the Alps. When he modelled this monument, Thorvaldsen had
never seen a live lion. From Luzerne, Thorvaldsen proceeded straight to
Copenhagen. He was received like a royal sovereign. At Copenhagen the
artist began his great series of sculptural embellishments for the
Cathedral. As completed, they comprised almost all his works on religious
subjects, among them the colossal "Christ and the Twelve Apostles," the
grand frieze of "Christ on the Road to Calvary," "The Baptism of Christ,"
"The Preachings of St. John the Baptist," "Christ's Entry into Jerusalem,"
and "The Lord's Supper." From Copenhagen Thorvaldsen went to Warsaw, where
he executed a bust of Emperor Alexander, and an equestrian statue of Prince
Poniatovski. This monument did not reach Warsaw until 1829. It was never
put up. What became of it is still a matter of conjecture.

[Sidenote: Roman honors]

[Sidenote: Thorvaldsen's friends]

[Sidenote: Sculptures for Germany]

[Sidenote: The Thorvaldsen Museum]

The accidental collapse of Thorvaldsen's studio at Rome, and the damage
done to several of his sculptures there, hastened his return to that city.
On the death of Pope Pius VII., shortly afterward, Thorvaldsen was
commissioned by Cardinal Consalvi to execute a monument to his memory. The
death of Canova having left the Academy of St. Luke without a president,
Pope Leo XII. himself nominated Thorvaldsen as Canova's successor. When
objections were raised that he was a heretic, the Holy Father asked: "Is
there any doubt that Thorvaldsen is the greatest sculptor in Rome?" "The
fact is incontestable," answered the prelates. "Then Thorvaldsen shall be
made president," said Leo XII. The office was held by the Danish sculptor
for the full term of three years, when he was glad to resign it. Just
before the outbreak of the Paris Revolution of 1830, Thorvaldsen was
commissioned to execute a colossal bust of Napoleon I. He entered upon this
task with enthusiasm. During the trying times of the revolution at Rome,
Thorvaldsen formed a close friendship with Horace Vernet, the Frenc