THORVALDSEN, Bertel
(b. 1768/70, København, d. 1844, København)

The Lion of Lucerne

1819-21
Stone
Lucerne

Thorvaldsen's fame was such that he was often asked to produce commissions for works that seem far removed from his cold Classicism. A example of this is the monument of the Swiss guards, commissioned by the city of Lucerne at the instigation of a former officer of the Swiss guards.

The figure of the lion is created on the wall of an earlier lime stone mine, and commemorates allegorically the destruction of the Swiss Guard at the storm of the Tuileries in Paris 1792, depicted in The Dying Lion. The Latin inscription commemorates the military persons, officers and soldiers, who fell in the battle.

Thorvaldsen produced a design for the lion, which was then carved into the rock by a local sculptor, Lukas Ahorn.




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