int Peter healing
the Paralytic. In these works this sculptor already showed two qualities
which remained the same through his life; in his subjects from antiquity
he showed a Greek spirit, which has led some writers to speak of him as
a "posthumous Greek," or a true Greek artist born after other Greek
artists had died; on the other hand, when he treated religious subjects
his spirit was like that of the best masters of the Renaissance, and
these works remind us of Raphael. All this excellence came entirely from
his artistic nature, for outside of that he was ignorant; he knew
nothing of history or literature, and was never a man of culture as long
as he lived. Outside of the work connected with his profession
Thorwaldsen was indolent, and only acquired knowledge of other matters
through observation or from the conversation of others.

Although he gained the prize which allowed him to travel in 1793, he did
not leave Copenhagen until May, 1796. In the mean time he had done what
he could to earn something: he had made designs for book-publishers,
given lessons in drawing and modelling, and made some bust and medallion
portraits, reliefs, and so on. The vessel in which the young sculptor
sailed for Naples was called the Thetis, and the captain engaged to
watch over him; the voyage was long, and all on board became fond of
Thorwaldsen, though the captain wrote, "He is an honest boy, but a lazy
rascal." This opinion is very amusing when we know what an enormous
amount of labor he performed. At Naples he remained for some time, and
saw and admired all its works of art. He did not reach Rome until about
nine months after leaving Copenhagen, but from that time his whole
thought and life were changed. He was accustomed to say, "I was born on
the 8th of March, 1797; before then I did not exist."

While in Naples Thorwaldsen had been ill, and suffered from a malarial
affection, which compelled him to be idle much of the time. But he was
always studying the antique statues, and made many copies. Some of the
first original works which he attempted were failures, when, at last, he
modelled a colossal statue of Jason, which was well received by those
who saw it, and made him somewhat famous in Rome (Fig. 118). Canova
praised it, and other critics did the same; but Thorwaldsen had no
money; the academy had supported him six years; what could he do? Quite
discouraged, he was engaged in his preparations for leaving Rome, when
Mr. Thoma