Sir Walter Scott

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At the end of a life marked by poverty and poor health, Sir Walter Scott made one final journey to mainland Europe in search of recovery. In 1832, while visiting Rome, he encountered Bertel Thorvaldsen, a renowned neoclassical sculptor from Denmark who was revered as a hero back home. A master of capturing the essence of his subjects through stone, Thorvaldsen created portraits that reflected the stature and influence of the era's most notable figures. Despite Scott's frail health, Thorvaldsen infused his sculpture with an air of resolute heroism, skillfully rendering the author's distinctive facial features in a portrait that was both idealised and deeply personal. The finished bust would not be completed until 1834, two years after Scott's passing. Scott had been crippled by polio at just eighteen months old, leaving him permanently disabled in his right leg. His parents sent him to recover on their farm near Kelso in the Scottish Borders, where he developed a deep love for the ballads that would later shape his literary career. Scott's novels enjoyed widespread acclaim across Europe, with those featuring Scottish themes - such as Old Mortality and Heart of Midlothian - having a profound impact on how Scots perceive their own history. After retiring from writing in 1830, exhausted by years of overwork, Scott embarked on a journey to Italy, where he met the Danish sculptor Thorvaldsen once again. The resulting portrait presents the writer as a towering figure of genius, rather than an old man worn down by life's trials.