Lucerne Lion

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In 1818-1819, Thorvaldsen produced the model for a monument to the Swiss Guards who had fought in Paris in defense of King Louis XVI, the absolute monarch of France, during the storming of the Tuileries by revolutionary forces on August 10, 1792. When the Dying Lion was dedicated in Lucerne, in 1821, pro-democracy circles criticized it as a tribute to royal power. In fact, however, Thorvaldsen may have embedded within the work a discreet critique of absolute monarchy as a form of government. This article begins by recounting the monument’s story, and proceeds to offer a more critical account—as, with time, it has grown to be more of a national symbol of Swiss values than a memorial for the mercenary soldiers that it actually names. [full text, Thorvaldsens Archives]

About the author:
Thorvaldsen
Thorvaldsens Museum opened on 18 September 1848 and was the first public museum building in Denmark. The characteristic museum building was built to exhibit the extensive life’s work of the sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen (1770-1844) and today still looks more or less as it did when it opened over 150 years ago. Thorvaldsens Museum also contains Thorvaldsen's drawings and sketches for sculptures and reliefs. In addition Thorvaldsen was a passionate collector, so the museum also exhibits his extensive collections of paintings from his own time and collections of artworks and objects from Greek, Roman and Egyptian antiquity. The museum also shows changing exhibitions that go into greater depth with aspects of the permanent collections, including contemporary art.

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