They are amongst the greatest achievements of a sculptor who in his lifetime was described as the Patriarch of the bas-relief, a field in which, according to Stefano Grandesso, he was generally recognised to be superior to Canova.

The Thorvaldsen originals, astonishingly beautiful marble relief roundels come directly from the Baring family and were almost certainly commissioned by Alexander Baring, 1st Baron Ashburton, who was one of Thorvaldsen s most significant patrons.

Thorvaldsen created his iconic relief models after a restless night in the summer of 1815 whilst he was staying in a boarding house, the Casa Buti, on the Strada Felice in Rome.

According to Thorvaldsen s biographer Mathias Thiele (1795-1874), he was discovered by his friend, the Danish painter Wilhelm Eckersberg (1783-1853) early one morning, before the house had woken sketching an image that he felt had been revealed to him during the night.

Recreated here in miniature by Sculptured Arts Studio, using a mix of the finest British Gypsum.

Size. 

33 x 33 cm.