The Thorvaldsen Medal is awarded annually with few exceptions to a varying number of recipients by the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts and is its highest destinction within the visual arts. It is named after the sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen

Bertel Thorvaldsen

Bertel Thorvaldsen was a Danish-Icelandic sculptor of international fame, who spent most of his life in Italy . Thorvaldsen was born in Copenhagen into a Danish/Icelandic family of humble means, and was accepted to the Royal Academy of Arts when he was eleven years old...

.

The medal was founded in 1837 as the Exhibition Medal and awarded for talented works in the Charlottenborg

Charlottenborg Palace

Charlottenborg Palace is a large town mansion located on the corner of Kongens Nytorv and Nyhavn in Copenhagen, Denmark. Originally built as a residence for Ulrik Frederik Gyldenløve, it has served as the base of the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts since its foundation in 1754...

 Spring Exhibition. In 1866, it was renamed the Thorvaldsen Exhibition Medal (da. Thorvaldsenske Udstillings-Medaille), and from 1923 it has been known under its current name.

Medal design

The medal is executed in silver and designed by the sculptor Christen Christensen

Christen Christensen

Christen Christensen was a Norwegian shipyard and ship owner as well as the founder and chairman of the world's largest whaling company, A/S Oceana.-Early life:...

 (1806–45) in connection with Thorvaldsen's homecoming from Rome

Rome

Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

 in 1838.

Exhibition Medal recipients

Year	Laureate	Winning work		Ref(s)
1839	Martinus Rørbye Martinus Rørbye Martinus Christian Wesseltoft Rørbye was a Danish painter, known both for genre works and landscapes. He was a central figure of the Golden Age of Danish painting during the first half of the 19th century....		A Turkish notary drawing up a marriage contract in front of the Kiliç Ali Pasha Mosque, Tophane, Constantinople
1846	Anton Melbye Anton Melbye Daniel Hermann Anton Melbye was a Danish painter. He studied at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts and was a private student of Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg...		Eddystone Lighthouse (Eddystone Fyrtaarn)
1853	Julius Exner Julius Exner Johan Julius Exner, , Danish genre painter, was born in Copenhagen to Johann Gottlieb Exner, a Czech musician from Bohemia, who came to Denmark during the Napoleonic period, and his wife Karen Jørgensdatter...		Visiting Grandfather ("Besøget gos bedstefar")
1860	William Hammer		Grain and fruits under an apple tree ("Korn og Fruget under et Æbletræ")
1860	Theobald Stein Theobald Stein Theobald Stein was a Danish sculptor. He was a professor at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts and served as its director from 1883 to 1886....		Neapolitan fishing boy, carrying a pitcher("Neapolitansk Fiskerdreng, bærende en Vandkrukke")
1861	Christen Dalsgaard Christen Dalsgaard Christen Dalsgaard was a Danish painter, a late student of Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg.- Early life and education:...		(En Kones højtidelige Kirkegang efter Barselfærd)
1872	Otto Bache Otto Bache Otto Bache was a Danish painter. Many of his pictures depict key events in Danish history.-Biography:Bache was born on 21 August 1839. Only 10 years old, on a dispensation, he was admitted into the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, from 1854 studying under Wilhelm Marstrand...		Portrait group of the Ræder family (Portrætgruppe af Familien Ræder)
1882	Peder Severin Krøyer Peder Severin Krøyer Peder Severin Krøyer , known as P.S. Krøyer, was a Norwegian-Danish painter. He is one of the best known and beloved, and undeniably the most colorful of the Skagen Painters, a community of Danish and Nordic artists who lived, gathered or worked in Skagen, Denmark, especially during the final...		?
1884	Christian Zacho		Quiet waters in Dyrehaven (Et stille Vand i Dyrehaven)
1886	Viggo Johansen Viggo Johansen Viggo Johansen was a Danish painter and active member of the group of Skagen Painters who met every summer in the north of Jutland. He was one of Denmark's most prominent painters in the 1890s.-Career:...		Evening talk (Aftenpassiar )
1887	Otto Haslund		Concerto (Koncert)
1893	Julius Paulsen		?
1899	Ludvig Brandstrup		?
1892	Knud Larsen
1906	L. A. Ring L. A. Ring Laurits Andersen Ring was one of the foremost painters of Danish symbolism. He was born as Laurits Andersen in the village Ring in southern Zealand. In 1881 he the took the name of his birth place, and was since known as L.A...		?
1907	Bertha Dorph		Et besøg hos den unge barselskone
1913	Ejnar Nielsen Ejnar Nielsen Ejnar Nielsen was a Danish painter and illustrator, who was a central proponant of Symbolist painting in Danish art. He is also known for his large mosaic on Stærekassen, an extension to the Royal Danish Theatre on Kongens Nytorv in Copenhagen...		?
1915	Theodor Philipsen Theodor Philipsen Theodor Philipsen was a Danish painter.Philipsen has been considered an innovator of 19th century Danish art. He took Danish art into a new level of impressionism and naturalism. He was influenced by French art, this influence beginning in his first time in Paris from 1874–1876...		?
1918	Herman Vedel Herman Vedel Herman Vedel was a Danish painter, the leading Danish portraitist of his time.-Biography:Herman Vedel was born on 1 March 1875 in Copenhagen. He was educated at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts from 1894 to 1897 and at the Zahrtmann Schoolfrom 1896 to 1899...		?
1923	Joakim Skovgaard		?

Thorvaldsen Medal recipients

Year	Recipient	Field
1925	Karl Jensen	Painter
1927	Fritz Syberg Fritz Syberg Christian Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Syberg, generally known as Fritz Syberg, was a Danish painter and illustrator, one of the reactionary Fynboerne or "Funen Painters" group living and working on the island of Funen.-Biography:Syberg, from a poor background in Fåborg, first served a house...	Painter
1930	Carl J. Bonnesen Carl Johan Bonnesen -Early life and education:Bonnesen was born on 26 May 1868 in Aalborg. He first trained to become a carpenter for two years before moving to Copenhagen where he was admitted to the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in 1887...	Sculptor
1932	Anne Marie Carl-Nielsen Anne Marie Carl-Nielsen Anne Marie Carl-Nielsen was a Danish sculptor. Her preferred themes were domestic animals and people, with an intense, naturalistic portrayal of movements and sentiments. She also depicted themes from Nordic mythology...	Sculptor
1933	Niels Larsen Stevns	Painter
1934	Johan Rohde	Painter
1936	Niels Hansen Jacobsen Niels Hansen Jacobsen Niels Hansen Jacobsen was a Danish sculptor and ceramist who is famous for making the, at the time of creation, controversial sculpture, Troll, who smells christianblood-References:...	Sculptor
1937	Niels Skovgaard Gerhard Henning	Sculptor Sculptor
1940	Sigurd Swane Sigurd Swane Sigurd Swane was a Danish painter and writer. He studied in Copenhagen at the Royal Danish Academy of Art.... Mogens Bøggild	Painter Sculptor
1941	Johannes Larsen Johannes Larsen Johannes Larsen was a Danish nature painter.-Biography:Born in Kerteminde on Funen, Larsen studied art at the Free School in Copenhagen under Kristian Zahrtmann in the 1880s. There he met other painters from Funen, notably Fritz Syberg and Peter Hansen, both from the southern port of Faaborg, and... Aksel Jørgensen	Painter Painter
1942	Olaf Rude Olaf Rude Olaf Rude was a Danish painter who was born in Estonia. As a child, he moved with his family to Frejlev on the island of Lolland. He is remembered in particular for his paintings of oak trees at Skejten on Lolland, two of which can be seen at Christiansborg.In 1905, he studied at the Copenhagen...	Painter
1943	Oluf Høst Oluf Høst Oluf Høst was the only member of the Bornholm school of painters who was a real Bornholmer. Although he had studied in Copenhagen, he returned to the Danish island of Bornholm in 1929 where he remained with his family until he died. Bognemark, the little farmhouse near Gudhjem was one of Høst's...	Painter
1944	Einar Utzon-Frank Einar Utzon-Frank Aksel Einar Utzon-Frank was a Danish sculptor and professor at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts. During his lifetime, he produced a large number of sculptures, many of which stand as public monuments... Johannes C. Bjerg Hans Knudsen Hans Knudsen Hans Knudsen is a Danish sprint canoer who competed in the mid to late 1960s. Competing in two Summer Olympics, he earned his best finish of ninth twice .... Svend Hammershøj	Sculptor Sculptor Painter Painter
1946	Jens Søndergaard Jens Søndergaard Jens Søndergaard was a Danish expressionist painter. He specialised in strongly coloured landscapes depicting his feelings for the power of nature and the sea. Søndergaard won both national and international acclaim.-Biography:... Aksel P. Jensen	Painter Painter
1948	Rasmus Harboe Jais Nielsen	Sculptor Painter
1950	Jean Gauguin Adam Fischer Ádám Fischer Ádám Fischer is a Hungarian conductor of Jewish family origin. He is the general music director of the Austro-Hungarian Haydn Orchestra, with which he has recorded the complete Haydn symphonies for the Nimbus label, the first digital recording of the cycle...	Sculptor Sculptor
1951	Ebba Carstensen	Painter
1952	Elof Risebye Ole Søndergaard	Painter Architect
1954	Astrid Noack	Sculptor
1956	Laura Brun-Pedersen	Painter
1957	William Scharff	Painter
1960	Henrik Starcke	Sculptor
1961	Erik Hoppe Erik Hoppe Erik Hoppe was a Danish painter who is remembered for his paintings from the Copenhagen area, especially those with young ladies in the park at Valby....	Painter
1963	Carl-Henning Pedersen Carl-Henning Pedersen Carl-Henning Pedersen was a Danish painter and a key member of the COBRA movement. He was known as the "Scandinavian Chagall", and was one of the leading Danish artists of the second half of the 20th century.... Palle Nielsen Axel Poulsen	Painter Painter Sculptor
1964	Georg Jacobsen Georg Jacobsen Georg Jacobsen was a Danish painter.He studied under Viggo Johansen at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen from 1906 to 1911. He later spent time in Paris, from 1919 to 1935, as well as Italy and Spain. From 1935 to 1940 he worked at the Norwegian National Academy of Fine Arts...	Painter
1965	Niels Lergaard Niels Lergaard Niels Lergaard was a Danish painter. After training as a house painter, he spent a few years in Norway, where he became interested in Norwegian landscape painting... Jørgen Gudmundsen-Holmgreen	Painter Sculptor
1966	Harald Leth Harald Leth Harald Leth was a Danish painter whose Naturalistic work was inspired by Johannes Larsen of the Funen Painters and Oluf Høst of the Bornholm School.-Biography:... Svend Johansen	Painter Painter
1967	Henry Heerup Henry Heerup Henry Heerup was a painter and sculptor born in Frederiksberg, Denmark.He studied painting under Axel Jørgensen and Einar Nielsen at the Royal Danish Academy of Art. He also studied sculpture there under Einar Utzon-Frank. He painted The Old Oak in Wolfvalley in 1924. This was his first oil... Lauritz Hartz Lauritz Hartz Lauritz Hartz was a Danish artist, considered to be one of the country's finest colourists.Hartz studied at the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen under Sigurd Wandel and Aksel Jørgensen where he quickly gained a reputation as a talented artist.Suffering from schizophrenia, his health... Robert Jacobsen Robert Jacobsen Robert Julius Tommy Jacobsen was a Danish sculptor and painter. The Danish Robert award was named after him.-Biography:...	Painter Painter Sculptor
1968	Richard Mortensen Richard Mortensen Richard Mortensen was a Danish painter.Mortensen studied between 1931 and 1932 at the Royal Danish Academy of Art in Copenhagen. Influenced by the works of Wassily Kandinsky, he developed an abstract style... Povl Christensen Knud Nellemose	Painter Painter Sculptor
1969	Ejler Bille Paul Gadegaard	Painter Painter
1970	Wilhelm Freddie Wilhelm Freddie Wilhelm Frederik Christian Carlsen Freddie was a Danish painter and sculptor. Initially working along a somewhat abstract line, he soon turned towards a more realistic surrealism, only to later return to abstract art...	Painter
1971	Knud Agger Peter Alsing Nielsen Sonja Ferlov Mancoba	Painter Painter Sculptor
1972	Søren Hjorth Nielsen Erik Thommesen	Painter Sculptor
1933	Karl Bovin Karl Bovin Karl Bovin was a Danish painter who specialized in landscapes of his native Odsherred in the north west of Zealand.He was interested in art from an early age. In the 1920s, he cycled to the artists paradise Skagen in the north of Jutland to show Anna and Michael Ancher some of his early work... Else Alfelt Else Alfelt Else Alfelt was a painter who was born and died in Copenhagen. She was one of the two women in the CoBrA. She was married to Carl-Henning Pedersen, also a veteran of CoBrA.... Willy Ørskov	Painter Painter Sculptor
1974	Søren Georg Jensen	Painter
1975	Gunnar Westman	Sculptor
1976	Anna Klindt Sørensen Gottfred Eickhoff	Painter Sculptor
1977	Franciska Clausen Franciska Clausen Franciska Clausen was a Danish painter. She studied with László Moholy-Nagy in Berlin in 1922 and with Fernand Léger in Paris from 1924 to 26.-References:... Bent Sørensen Bent Sørensen Bent Sørensen is a Danish composer.Sørensen studied composition with Ib Nørholm at the Royal Danish Academy of Music and with Per Nørgård at the Jutland Music Academy....	Painter Sculptor
1978	Sven Dalsgaard Ole Schwalbe Ole Kielberg	Painter Painter Painter
1979	Jørgen Haugen Sørensen Dan Sterup-Hansen	Sculptor Painter
1980	Gunnar Aagaard Andersen	Painter
1983	Kasper Heiberg	Painter
1984	Arne Haugen Sørensen Mogens Andersen Jane Muus	Painter Painter Painter
1985	Ib Braase	Sculptor
1986	Frede Christoffersen Else Fischer-Hansen Rasmus Nellemann	Painter Painter Painter
1987	Per Kirkeby Per Kirkeby Per Kirkeby is a Danish painter, poet, filmmaker and sculptor.-Biography:1962 Studies at the Experimental Art School in Copenhagen; works in the School on painting, graphic arts, 8 millimeter films and performance pieces...	Painter
1988	Albert Mertz	Painter
1989	Jørn Larsen Jørn Larsen Jørn Larsen was a Danish painter and sculptor. He was a member of Grønningen from 1970 and received the Eckersberg Medal in 1978 and the Thorvaldsen Medal in 1989. He represented Denmark at the Venice Biennale in 1993....	Painter
1990	Christian Daugaard	Painter
1991	Ib Geertsen	Painter
1982	Hein Heinsen Hein Heinsen Hein Olaf Heinsen is a Danish artist. He made his debut on the Danish art scene in the 1960s as part of the minimalistic movement. He was a Professor at The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts from 1980 to 1989.... Egon Fischer	Sculptor Sculptor
1994	Mogens Møller	Sculptor
1995	Sven Havsteen-Mikkelsen Sven Havsteen-Mikkelsen Sven Havsteen-Mikkelsen was a Danish painter who is remembered for his old Nordic landscapes, his church decorations and his woodcuts.-Early life and education:...	Painter
1996	Bjørn Nørgaard Bjørn Nørgaard Bjørn Nørgaard is a Danish artist who has been active in a variety of fields. He has significantly influenced the art scene in Denmark both through his "happenings" and his sculptures in Danish cities...	Sculptor
1997	John Olsen John Olsen John Wayne Olsen, AO was Premier of South Australia between 28 November 1996 and 22 October 2001.-Parliament:Olsen was a member of the Liberal Party and Member of Parliament for more than 20 years... Richard Winther Richard Winther Richard Winther was considered one of the major Danish artists of the 20th century. He explored the arts extensively and his prolific career focused mainly on painting, graphics, photography and sculpture...	Painter Painter
1998	Stig Brøgger	Painter
1999	Torben Ebbesen Jørgen Boberg	Sculptor Painter
2000	Thomas Bang Kirsten Lockenwitz Ingálvur av Reyni Ingálvur av Reyni Ingálvur av Reyni was the most celebrated painter of the Faroe Islands during the last years.Ingálvur av Reyni was born in Tórshavn. He rebelled through his expressionism against the epic content of his predecessors' art, and has opened up new paths in his painting...	Sculptor Sculptor Painter
2001	Ole Sporring	Painter
2002	Kirsten Ortwed	Sculptor
2003	Ingvar Cronhammar	Sculptor
2004	Troels Wörsel Troels Wörsel Troels Wörsel is a Danish painter, currently based in Cologne and Pietra Santa."Troels Wörsel is self-taught and since the 1970s.In the 1970s he was interested mostly in Pop art and conceptual art...	Painter
2005	Kirsten Justesen Jytte Rex	Sculptor Painter
2005	Jørgen Rømer	Painter
2008	Erik Hagens	Painter
2009	Christian Lemmerz	Sculptor
2010	Morten Stræde Elisabeth Toubro	Sculptor Sculptor