A History of the Nineteenth Century, Year by Year Part 37

[Sidenote: Famous works]

[Sidenote: A Napoleonic order]

[Sidenote: "Morning and Night"]

In the spring of 1805 Thorvaldsen made his first important ba.s.s-relief, "The Abduction of Briseis," which still remains one of the most celebrated of the sculptor's works. Orders now began to come in from all over the world. Marquis Torlogna commissioned Thorvaldsen to make companion pieces to Canova's famous group "Hercules and Lycas" in the Palazzo Brazzino, while a government representative of the United States offered to pay five thousand crowns apiece for colossal statues of a Liberty and a Victory to be erected in the city of Washington. These and other works Thorvaldsen was prevented from executing by his unfortunate entanglement with Signora d'Uhden, whose fits of jealousy imbittered his life. About this time the sculptor formed life-long friendships with his German fellow-sculptor, Rauch, and with Prince Louis of Bavaria, who commissioned him to execute an Adonis for the Munich Museum, and to restore the aegean marbles lately acquired by that prince. Napoleon's visit to Rome in 1811 resulted in a characteristic order. The Emperor left to Thorvaldsen the choice of the subject, but gave him only three months' time wherein to finish his models.

The sculptor accordingly executed his colossal frieze presenting the "Entry of Alexander the Great into Babylon." It remains one of the largest and most ambitious of Thorvaldsen's works. It was intended for the Temple of Glory, now the Church of the Madeleine in Paris, and the price stipulated by Napoleon was 320,000 francs. Before Thorvaldsen could execute the frieze in marble, Napoleon suffered his reverses and was exiled to Elba. The Bourbon Government in France refused to take the monument. A replica in marble now adorns the Palace of Christianborg in Denmark. No less abortive was Thorvaldsen's undertaking of a great monument intended to commemorate the re-establishment of Poland. The monument was ordered in 1812, after Napoleon's entry into Warsaw. By the time the work was finished Poland was no more. To the year 1815 belong Thorvaldsen's famous ba.s.s-reliefs "The Workshop of Vulcan," "Achilles and Priam," and the two well-known medallions, "Morning" and "Night," which were reproduced a thousand-fold throughout Europe. They were conceived, it is said, during a sleepless night, and were modelled in one day.

Despite the urgent requests of his countrymen, Thorvaldsen would not be weaned from Rome. About this time Thorvaldsen produced his famous "Dancing Girl," "Love Victorious," "Ganymede and the Eagle," and "A Young Shepherd with his Dog." It was then, too, that he modelled the portrait of Lord Byron which served for 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 French artist, and Felix Mendelssohn, the German composer. Mendelssohn would play on the piano in Thorvaldsen's studio at Rome, while the sculptor worked on his models. About this time, too, occurred the famous interview between Thorvaldsen and Walter Scott. Neither understood the other's language, yet they took a warm liking to each other. Later, Thorvaldsen modelled a bust of Sir Walter Scott. Shortly after the Revolution of 1830, the new French Government of Louis Philippe appointed Thorvaldsen an officer of the Legion of Honor. At the invitation of King Louis of Bavaria, Thorvaldsen went to Munich. There he finished his monument to Prince Eugene, the equestrian statue of Elector Maximilian, and another model of his famous "Adonis,"

ordered by that art-loving King. For the city of Mainz he finished his model of Gutenberg, for which he refused to receive any pay, while for the city of Stuttgart he made a monument of Schiller. On Thorvaldsen's return to Rome, his stay there was brought to an end by an epidemic of cholera.

The government of Denmark sent a royal frigate to Leghorn to bring Thorvaldsen and all his sculptures back to his native land. Arriving in Copenhagen, the old artist was received with even greater honor than before. The Castle of Nysoe was put at his disposal, and there he executed his last works, among them a statue of himself. In his seventy-second year he died very suddenly, while attending a performance at the Royal Theatre at Copenhagen. His obsequies were marked by all the pomp and ceremony due to a sovereign of Denmark. Four years later, after the completion of the Thorvaldsen Museum, his remains were laid in the vault that had been prepared for him there, amid the rich collection of his masterpieces.

[Sidenote: The master's pupils]

As a sculptor, Thorvaldsen's name will always be linked with that of his great rival and contemporary, Canova. Both sculptors are equally remarkable for the way they returned to the cla.s.sic traditions of h.e.l.lenic sculpture.

It can be said of them that they bridged the chasm of nearly two thousand years that had elapsed between antiquity and modern times. It was reserved to their successors to introduce a modern note in sculpture. Like Canova, Thorvaldsen exerted great influence on almost all the sculptors who came to Rome in his day. Thus Rauch declared himself indebted to him for the purity of his style. From his school in turn issued Riechel of Dresden, Drake, Wolff and Blauser of Cologne. Among the friends of Thorvaldsen, who profited by his councils, were Dannecker, Schadow and Schwanthaler. At Rome, Tenerini, Louis Bienaime, Pierre Galli and Emile Wolff proved themselves apt pupils of the Danish master, while, at Copenhagen, Thorvaldsen's influence was kept alive by Bisson.

[Sidenote: Death of Saint Hilaire]

[Sidenote: Comte]

[Sidenote: Lacordaire]

[Sidenote: "Count of Monte Cristo"]

In France two other great personages of Napoleonic days pa.s.sed away with Joseph Bonaparte, the great Napoleon's brother and quondam king of Naples and Spain, and Jacques Lafitte, Napoleon's banker, to whose honor were intrusted the millions left behind by Napoleon, when he fled from Paris.

More lamented than their death, perhaps, was that of Etienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, the great French naturalist. Born in 1772, he first came into prominence as the curator of the wild animals in the Jardin des Plantes. Here he formed his life-long friendship with Cuvier. General Bonaparte took him along on the expedition to Egypt, where Saint-Hilaire helped found the Inst.i.tute of Cairo. In 1807 he was admitted into the French Inst.i.tute, and two years later was appointed Professor of Zoology and Comparative Physiology in the Faculty of Sciences. This chair he retained until his death. Starting as a pure zoologist, Saint-Hilaire became the founder of the science of philosophical anatomy. This new doctrine was fully expounded in his "Philosophie Anatomique" (1818-1822).

Other important works of Saint-Hilaire were "Histoire Naturelle des Mammiferes," collaborated with Cuvier (1819-1837); "Principes de la Philosophie Zoologique" (1830), and "Etudes Progressives d'un Naturaliste."

During this same year Comte published his "Discours sur l'Esprit Positive."

Pere Lacordaire brought out his "Funeral Orations," while Charles Lenormais, with others, published the great French work on "Ceramographic Monuments." Practical effect to the teachings of Saint-Simon, Fourier and Louis Blanc was given by the establishment of the so-called Creches, or infant asylums for the temporary care of children of working mothers. The greatest literary success of the year was that of Alexandre Dumas's serial novel, "The Count of Monte Cristo."

[Sidenote: French war with Morocco]

[Sidenote: Hawaiian independence guaranteed]

The foreign affairs of France throughout this year were conducted by Guizot. As a result of the military occupation of Algiers, war with Morocco broke out in May. The Prince de Joinville bombarded and captured the fortified town of Mogador. Marshal Buguead won a signal victory over the Moors on the banks of Isly. After the defeat of the rebellious subjects of the Sultan of Morocco, this potentate, Abder Rahman, made common cause with the French against Abd-el-Kader. A French treaty with China was negotiated by Guizot in October. In regard to the vexed problem of Tahiti and the Hawaiian Islands an understanding was reached with the other Powers. Amends were made to England for the French indignities to the British Consul at Tahiti, while the independence of Hawaii was guaranteed by a joint declaration of France, Great Britain and the United States. Toward the close of the year the uncertainties of government in Spain were once more made manifest by a military insurrection, headed by General Zurbano.

1845

[Sidenote: Poe's "Raven"]

At the beginning of the year, in America, came a literary sensation of unwonted brilliancy. In the New York "Evening Mirror," January 29, Edgar Allan Poe's famous poem "The Raven" was reprinted from the advance sheets of "The American Whig Review," in which the name of the author was masked under the pseudonym of "Quarles." The poem was copied all over America and soon reached England. Baudelaire translated it into French. As Poe's biographer, Woodberry, has said: "No great poem ever established itself so immediately, so widely and so imperishably in men's minds." A literary tradition has it that Poe only received ten dollars for this masterpiece, and had to wait a year and more for his money.

[Sidenote: Texas annexed to the United States]

[Sidenote: Florida admitted to Union]

[Sidenote: James K. Polk, President]

[Sidenote: Oregon dispute settled.]

War between the United States of North America and Mexico was now seen to be inevitable. On January 25, a joint resolution for the annexation of Texas pa.s.sed through the American House of Representatives by a vote of 120 to 98, and through the Senate by 27 over 25 votes. On March 1, President Tyler signed the bill. The tactics by which Texas was annexed were similar to those by which the Missouri Compromise had been forced through Congress in 1820, and the nullification compromise in 1833. It meant a distinct gain for the pro-slavery party in the United States, and was denounced as such by the abolitionists of the North. Both in Mexico and in the United States active preparations were now made for war. American ships were still welcomed in the ports of Mexico, the more so since many of them brought needed munitions of war. In the United States strenuous efforts were made to settle all pending differences with other countries. In February, Great Britain had already accepted the forty-ninth parallel as a boundary line agreeable to the governments of both countries, and soon the Oregon boundary dispute was likewise settled by treaty. Caleb Cushing's treaty with China was ratified by the Senate. Florida was admitted into the Union on March 3, the day before Tyler ceased to be President. James K. Polk succeeded him as the eleventh President. He had represented Tennessee in the House for fourteen years, serving twice as Speaker. Having declined the re-election to Congress, he was chosen Governor of his State. His nomination to the Presidency had been brought about by accident.

Immediately after his inauguration, Polk appointed James Buchanan as his Secretary of State. Polk in his inaugural address suggested a settlement of the Oregon boundary dispute with England on the line of 54 40'. The Democratic platform of 1844 had declared: "Fifty-four-forty, or fight." In other words, both Great Britain and the United States claimed the country on the Columbia River. When Calhoun proposed a line of boundary along the forty-ninth degree of lat.i.tude, the British Ministry made a counter proposition, accepting the line to the summit and thence along the Columbia River to the Pacific. Despite much talk of war, Calhoun's successor in the end accepted the British proposition of a boundary along the line of forty degrees, continuing to the ocean.

[Sidenote: Death of Andrew Jackson]

By the aid of the Whig Senators a treaty on this basis was approved by the Senate. With this question out of the way, the brunt of preparing for war now fell upon the new administration. Troops were ma.s.sed within striking distance, and General Taylor was put in command of the American army. He proceeded to St. Joseph's Island, and from there crossed over to Corpus Christi on the mainland, near the mouth of the Neuces. At this point more troops were concentrated to remain in winter quarters until the opening of hostilities. On June 8, Andrew Jackson died at "The Hermitage" in Tennessee. He had lived there quietly ever since his retirement from the Presidency. One of his last acts was to write a public letter to President Polk, wherein he urged him to prompt action in the Oregon boundary matter so as to be ready for decisive measures in Texas.

[Sidenote: Slave trade under ban]

[Sidenote: General Zurbano shot]

The frustration of the British attempt to keep slavery out of Texas was offset in other directions. A convention was concluded between Ecuador and Great Britain to suppress slave trading in that region. In Cuba, likewise, General Concha took measures for the total suppression of the slave trade.

A law was pa.s.sed making the trade a criminal offence in the Spanish West Indies. The government of Spain after much reluctance recognized the independence of Venezuela. Affairs in Spain had taken a new turn. On January 21, General Zurbano was betrayed into the hands of his enemies and was shot. The Cortes adopted a reactionary const.i.tution.

[Sidenote: Atrocities in Algiers]

In France, a Liberal majority in the Chambers, after a prolonged struggle, brought about the expulsion of the Jesuits. In the midst of this movement, Cavaignac, the great opposition journalist, expired. The French war in Algeria by this time had degenerated into mere guerilla fighting. The chief event of the year brought execration upon the arms of France. A tribe of Kabyles had taken refuge in the caves of Dahra. Unable to dislodge them from there, General Pelissier gave orders to smoke them out. Some five hundred of the tribesmen, among them women, children and aged people, were suffocated.

[Sidenote: Colonial expansion]

[Sidenote: Sikhs belligerent]

Colonial extension in other parts of the world was carried on in like aggressive manner. Thus a joint expedition of France and Great Britain made an attack on Tamatave in Madagascar, but failed of success. Another joint expedition of the two powers forced the Republic of Argentine to concede free navigation of the La Plata River. From China concessions were wrested by which Christian missionaries were to be admitted to all of the five treaty ports. As a consequence of these concessions a virulent hatred of the foreigners sprang up among the common people of China. In South Africa, Governor-General Maitland of Cape Colony earned the everlasting hatred of the Boers by sending out an armed expedition to a.s.sist the black warriors of Griqualand against the Boers. In India, affairs at Lah.o.r.e had reached a crisis. There the boy Maharajah, with his regent mother and her favorite sirdar, Lal Singh, were at the mercy of their Sikh soldiery. To save themselves they determined to launch their army upon the British.

[Sidenote: John Franklin's Arctic quest]