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19th Century Biscuit Porcelain, Four Seasons, after Thorvaldsen, Bing
Gröndahl
$3,219.20per set
£2,407.42per set
€2,689per set
CA$4,435.90per set
A$4,839.45per set
CHF 2,562.46per set
MX$57,990.40per set
NOK 32,634.35per set
SEK 29,841.69per set
DKK 20,479.92per set
About the Item
Late 19th Century Biscuit Porcelain, Four Seasons, after Bertel Thorvaldsen, by Bing
Gröndahl
Since antiquity, the cycle of the four seasons has served artists as a potent metaphor for the rhythms of nature and the progression of human life. From ancient Greek poetry to Renaissance frescoes, Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter have appeared not merely as descriptive markers of the year but as embodiments of growth, maturation, decline, and repose. Within this long cultural tradition, Bertel Thorvaldsen—a central figure of nineteenth-century classicism—created a series of reliefs that distill these themes with a clarity that is both serene and deeply humane.
Thorvaldsen’s reliefs are deceptively simple. Each season is represented through an intimate domestic vignette rather than grand allegory, and yet the scenes resonate with symbolic weight. In Spring, a young girl weaves a wreath of fresh blossoms. The gesture is tender and unhurried, suggesting the delicate unfolding of life at its earliest stage. Her figure, graceful and unburdened, echoes the youthful vitality of the season itself. Thorvaldsen’s crisp contour lines and calm composition recall ancient Greek bas-reliefs, but the emotional register is gentler, more personal: this is not an idealized goddess of fertility, but a child absorbed in her task.
In Summer, the tone shifts toward fullness and warmth. A couple, clearly in love, harvests the season’s bounty together. Their shared labor and affectionate posture convey not only the literal abundance of summer but also the richness of human connection at its height. The scene encapsulates the season’s dual symbolism: nature at its ripest and the human heart at its most open. Thorvaldsen captures this harmony in balanced forms and fluid contours, demonstrating how classical restraint can coexist with emotional immediacy.
Autumn introduces a sense of maturity bordering on contemplation. A family sits beneath heavy clusters of ripe grapes, enjoying the rewards of a successful harvest. The motif of grapes, long associated with both celebration and transience, underscores autumn’s dual nature: richness tinged with the awareness of its inevitable end. The familial grouping suggests continuity across generations, a quiet acceptance of the yearly cycle. Thorvaldsen’s handling of the drapery and gestures is particularly elegant here; the figures appear to settle naturally into the composition, as if absorbed in a moment of contentment that cannot quite disguise its impermanence.
The cycle concludes with Winter, which stands apart in both tone and design. Here, an elderly couple withdraws into the warm refuge of their home. The details are pared back: outlines are simpler, the setting more austere. This reduction is deliberate. Winter, in Thorvaldsen’s vision, is not merely coldness but introspection—the final stage of the human journey, when life contracts into essential forms. And yet it is not a scene of desolation. The couple’s closeness conveys tenderness and mutual care. The brazier offers warmth, and the small kitten poised beside it introduces a flicker of life and curiosity. It is the kitten, with its alert gaze toward the viewer, that momentarily breaks the distance and reintroduces the sense of lived presence. In this subtle gesture, Thorvaldsen acknowledges the onlooker’s presence and gently invites reflection on the relationship between observer and observed.
Across the entire cycle, Thorvaldsen employs the language of classicism—clarity of line, balanced composition, and restrained emotion—but adapts it to the intimacy of everyday life. Instead of heroic mythological figures, he presents ordinary people engaged in humble acts: weaving, harvesting, resting, keeping warm. These simple narratives allow the seasons’ symbolic meanings to unfold quietly, without didactic insistence. The viewer feels almost like an unseen guest peering into private worlds. In the first three scenes, this sense of closeness draws the viewer into the rhythms of the household; yet in the winter relief, the reduced detail and inward-turned figures create a respectful distance, as if one were observing a moment beyond intrusion.
Ultimately, Thorvaldsen’s “Four Seasons” is a meditation on time—its cycles, its gifts, and its unavoidable passing. By grounding universal themes in the tenderness of domestic life, he transforms the ancient allegory into something both timeless and deeply human. Each relief becomes a reminder that the seasons of nature mirror the seasons of our own existence, and that beauty persists not despite transience but because of it.
- Dimensions:Height: 0.79 in (2 cm)Diameter: 11.42 in (29 cm)
- Sold As:Set of 4
- Style:Neoclassical (Of the Period)
- Materials and Techniques:
- Place of Origin:
- Period:
- Date of Manufacture:Late 19th Century
- Condition:Wear consistent with age and use.
- Seller Location:Dresden, DE
- Reference Number:1stDibs: LU10227247776152
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