Antonio Canova

Antonio Canova (Possagno, November 1, 1757 - Venice, October 13, 1822) was an Italian sculptor and painter born in the then Republic of Venice, considered the greatest exponent of sculpture neoclassicism and nicknamed for this "new Fidia"

She was the son of Peter, a mastermind of work, and Maria Zardo Fantolini, and Canova did her apprenticeship in Venice where she sculpted her first works. In 1779 she moved to Rome, where she lived for the rest of her life. For staying abroad or returning to the native places, Urbe for him always represented an indispensable point of reference

Intimately close to the neoclassical theories of Winckelmann and Mengs, Canova had prestigious buyers, from Habsburg to the Bourbon, from the papal court to Napoleon, to the Venetian, Roman and Russian nobility. Among his most famous works are the Love and Psyche, Teseo on Minotaur, Adonis and Venus, Ebe, The Three Graces, The Funeral Monument to Maria Cristina of Austria and Paolina Borghese

Family background: Pietro Canova, Fantolin, grandfather Pasino:
Antonio Canova was born on November 1, 1757 in Possagno, Treviso's town of Grappa's pedemontana, by Pietro Canova and by the crespanese Angela Zardo, called Fantolin. He is a well-known family of stonecutters, architectural practitioners and for a time also owners of quarries at Possagno, Young Canova lost to her father even at least four years, "a stone worker and an architect." After a long time, her mother went to second wedding with the crespaness Francesco Sartori; While she, on occasion, returned to Crespano, the little Antonio remained in Possagno, entrusted to the care of her paternal grandfather Pasino

Pasino Canova, born in Possagno on April 16, 1711, was also a skilled cutter, known in neighboring countries for his sculptural interventions in churches and villas; Linked to the workshop of Giuseppe Bernardi, known as the Torretti, made a marble relief with Madonna for the Villa Falier to the Pradazzi of Asolo, two stone Angels in the parish church of Monfumo, and the main altars in the church of Thiene Pasino, besides being a A bad administrator of his financial wealth (eroded after some bankruptcy speculation) was a brazen and extravagant man, who provided a lot of ill-treatment and mortification to the very sensitive soul of the little Canova, who absorbed these events very deeply and was marked by lifetime

The first steps as a sculptor:
In spite of his intense indolence, Pasino turned out to be a valentine teacher for his grandson. Intuitioning the inclinations and artistic talent of the little Antonio, he put him to work and carve the stone at the villa of Falier, where he was waiting for some work. Among the most energetic in learning lapicidal art, Canova was attracted to John Falier's benevolence, who, enticed by his enthusiasm, took it away from his grandfather and took care of his professional training, allocating him to the workshop of Giuseppe Bernardi In nearby Pagnano d'Asolo (not far from Possagno) It is even said that Canova gained the commotion of Falier's admiration when, at a dinner of noble Venetians, he carved in the butter the majestic figure of a lion of San Marco wings Explained, performed with such great skill that all the guests were amazed

In 1768 the little Tonin moved to the Torretti workshop in Venice, a town animated by profound artistic stimuli and cultural ferments; The contract of garzonado guaranteed the food, accommodation and fifty money a day, and also allowed him to attend evening classes at the Nude Academy organized at "Fontegheto de la Farina" in San Marco basin Thanks to the financial aid of Grandpa Pasino, Who had sold a small farm since 1770 Canova could only work half a day in the shop (after the death of Torretti, his nephew Giovanni Ferrari), devoting the other half to the study of the statue material of the gallery of Ca 'Farsetti, In Rialto, where plaster casts of ancient and modern statues were collected. The lagoon experience left an indelible imprint on the young Canova, who here developed a first (albeit mediated) approach to classical and learned culture as well as the secrets to sculpting Marble, how to handle economically and technically a shop, knowledge that certainly helped him when he opened his own

The first Venetian works of Canova were two fruit cans (today at the Correr Museum) commissioned by Falier but directed to Filippo Vincenzo Farsetti. In October 1773, an Eurydice and a stone orphan in Costozza, executed on commission by Falier Canova, finished Statues two years later and, exhibited in May 1776 at the annual exhibition of Venetian art of the Sensa festival, received a blazing success, sanctioning its rise in the art world

The capitoline star:
The first stay in Rome: from 1779 to 1780:
Thanks to its economic potential in 1777 Canova opened a new larger studio in San Maurizio, where the following year he was engaged in the construction of the group depicting Dedalo and Icarus, on the commission of the prosecutor Pietro Vettor Pisani: the work consecrated its prestige Professional in the Venetian artistic world, finally able to see his talent A testimony of his artistic recognition is the appointment of March 1779 as a member of the Venetian Academy, to which Canova gave a sign of gratitude a terracotta Apollo

He was even offered a teaching chair. However, Canova did not accept, as he had long accrued the desire to go to Rome to perfect his art, which is now finally achievable thanks to the hundred knives earned by the execution of Dedalo And Icaro It was so that Canova, departing from Venice in October 1779, after stopping in Bologna and Florence, arrived in Rome on 4 November 1779 with the architect Gianantonio Selva: this stay, which lasted until 1780, would prove to be very profitable not only under The artistic, but also the cultural and human profile

Thanks to the intercession of Falier, his first patron, who had just arrived in Urbe Canova, was warmly welcomed by Gerolamo Zulian, Venetian ambassador to the Holy See, who assigned him a studio and accommodation at Venice Palace. Thanks to the timely diaries he has Let us know that Canova intensively lived his capitolian days, since he had visited - to use a definition of Quatremère de Quincy - the "museum of Rome", made of statues, colossus, temples, spas, Circuses, amphitheaters, triumphal arches, tombs, stucco, frescoes, bas-reliefs "The doors of the major Roman collections were opened, such as those collected in the Vatican museums (where he looked with great interest to the Apollo of the Belvedere) And was able to attend the nude school at the Academy of France and to go to the theater, moved by his love for the dance performance. He also worked for the painter Pompeo Batoni He appreciated the "gentle, grandiose design of beautiful forms" and for a time also benefited from the aunt of the abbot Foschi, made available by Zulian, with whom he could fill his cultural gaps by learning Italian, English, French, reading classic Greek and Latin, learning classical mythology

Thanks to the partnership with Zulian and Rezzonico, grandchildren of the late Clement XIII, Canova was able to enter into friendship with both the massive nucleus of Venetian artists established in Rome and with various foreign artists. Among them was the Romanesque bohemian Anton Raphael Mengs, the painter-philosopher who, in his proposal to imitate the great classical masters, made paintings that were real illustrations of the theories expressed by the German Johann Joachim Winckelmann Even Canova was galvanized by the neoclassical ideal promoted by Winckelmann, who was Even a decisive assertor of the superiority of Greek civilization, which he considered to be the only one to have achieved purity and virtue in art. In fact, the sculptor Canova would have turned out to be the most punctual and consistent interpreter of the theories expressed by Winckelmann and Mengs , In a similar way as in those years the French Jacques-Louis David was painting While being animated by such a fervor Hours of ideas, however, the Roman artistic scene was not without deep rivalries: even Canova remained obscured, so that in the early years critics of Rome pretended to be proud, considering it a denigrator of the works of antiquity Canova, in fact , Scatters against the imitation pedissequa from the ancient, and preferred to produce original works in a creative way, though inspired by the principles that governed classical Greek art

From Neapolitan stay to the execution of the Thesis on the Minotaur:
Between 22 January and 28 February 1780 Canova was in Naples, a guest of Contarina Barbarigo In the Parthenopean city of Canova, in addition to visiting the Farnese collection (housed in the emigrant palace of Capodimonte), she visited the chapel of Sansevero: remained ecstatic by the virtuosity of The veiled Christ exhibited (even tried to buy it, and declared himself willing to give up ten years of his life to be the author), he also paid close attention to the statue of Pudicizia, carved by the landlord Antonio Corradini, a Venetian sculptor celebrated for Its veiled figures Here is an excerpt of Canova's travel journal:

"Naples, February 2, 1780 [] This cape is full of statues, there is also the veiled statue made by Corradini with the inscription [] in these words" Antonio Corradino Veneto Sculptors Cesareo et appositi simulacri vel ipsis grecis invidendi Authors here hard relic Hujus Templi ornamententa meditabatur obit A MDCCLII »
(Antonio Canova)
In Campania, in addition, Canova had the opportunity to discover the immense archaeological heritage found at Pompeii, Ercolano and Paestum sites. In front of the past antiquity show, not only enthusiasm and adherence, but also the desire to study more thoroughly Classicism, thus becoming more and more aware of neoclassical instances

Back in Rome, in June 1780 Canova sent the chalk of Dedalo and Icaro, the sculpture that sanctioned his definitive artistic takeoff. However, the work was accepted very coldly by Roman academics: among the few admirers there was Gavin Hamilton, A Scottish painter and antique dealer with which Canova will tie together a friendship destined to prove to be victorious and to last for the rest of his life. In the meantime, Zulian was convinced that his protégé would bestow herself only if she had settled permanently Rome: Stressed by the latter, Canova left for Venice on June 22, 1780, so to close the lagoon studio and finish some works, including the Poleni statue for the Prato della Valle di Padova

Returning to Rome in December, Canova performed an Apollo who was baptized on the commission of Senator Abbondio Rezzonico, nephew of the pope, who preferred Canvas work against the peaceful Minerva of the competitor Giuseppe Angelini; At the same time he obtained from the Serenissima the three - year pension of 300 ducats in silver annually. At the suggestion of Gavin Hamilton, Canova began working on the large marble group depicting Teseo winning the Minotaur, which he conceived as a true manifestation of his art. The work was completed in 1783, and from then on it had a striking success both in Italy and abroad: with great technical virtuosity, in fact, Canova infused into the figure of Teseo that "noble simplicity and quiet size" that Winckelmann considered to be the qualities Supreme of Greek art Among the most convivial enthusiasts there was the French scholar Quatremère de Quincy, with whom Canova shook fast cultural understanding and friendship destined to last for the rest of the life The idyll of these years was broken only by disappointment Loving with Sunday Volpato, a woman she had invaded ("one that is a beauty", to use the words of the same Sculptor) who, however, declared himself in love with Neapolitan incisor Raphael Morghen, despite the fact that the two were already planning to marry

Like a new Fidia:
Also in 1783 Canova received the commemoration of the funeral monument to Clement XIV, to place in the basilica of the Saints XII Apostoli Complice the loving disappointment with the Volpato, Canova devoted with full and total dedication to the execution of the tomb, April 1787 in the new study at Via San Giacomo, where he had relocated the Serenissima retirement. Apart from producing ten thousand shields, the work consecrated him as the greatest sculptor of his century: all the potentials of Canova were clear to all In those years enjoyed a prestige equal to that of a Bernini or Michelangelo Meanwhile, to seek rest from the intense work of a sculptor, stayed for a month in Naples, where English Colonel John Campbell commissioned him a marble group depicting Love and Psyche

The success of Clement XIV's tomb in the meantime prompted Don Giovanni Abbondio Rezzonico and his brothers, Cardinals Carlo and Giovanni Battista, to commission Canova the funeral monument to Uncle Clement XIII to be placed in the Basilica of Saint Peter. In the Berninian influence, Canova performed a tomb with rigorous neoclassical shapes, where the pontiff, kneeling obliquely on the sarcophagus, is "an impressive figure who breathes" (Arduino Colasanti): insensitive to detractors' fatigue and malevolence, took four years to bring The work, which was solemnly inaugurated on the night of the holy Thursday of 1792, in the presence of Pius VI Dressed as a beggarist in order to be able to better listen to the comments, Canova could easily find out the consents generated by the work, which was greatly appreciated By the pope, by Morghen, by Pietro Giordani

Fame reached Canova quickly and potentially, so much so that, according to Quatremère, even in Paris "in the newsletters he became aware of his latest model." The numerous commissions of great importance offered to him during this period were obtained: In 1789 he made two statues of Amorini, one for Princess Lubomirska and one for Colonel Campbell, and in the same year he was commissioned by a Psyche girl, completed in 1792. In 1793, however, he finally brought to completion the Love and Psyche: The work was very echoed and was universally appreciated, finding the most enthusiastic enthusiasts in the English poet John Keats, author of an Ode to Psyche, and John Flaxman, with whom Canova stretched in affectionate friendship

The intense sculptural activity, however, had severely affected the health of Canova, which began to accuse fierce stomach pains. In order to restore its physical energies, in May 1792 he made the decision to return to Possagno. It was the first time since When he had moved to Rome, who saw the country of origin, who had reserved a reception worthy of a hero: escorted by compatriots at party, Canova could finally greet Grandpa Pasino and, in Crespano, her mother Received in Venice the commission of the monument in Memorial of Admiral Angelo Emo, the sculptor slowly returned to Rome, setting foot in Padua, Vicenza, Verona, Mantua, Parma, Modena, and finally Bologna, all cities where the art reflections were universally acclaimed Canovians even came to Russia, where Catherine II tried to call the sculptor at his own court: Canova, however, declined the honorable invitation, and in thanksgiving In the empress of the empress, a second version of Love and Psyche, today exposed to Ermitage In these years Canova was literally submerged in commissions, so that in 1796 she admitted to Selva that "if I had several hands all would be employed": between The most notable works of this period are the Hercules and the Lycra and the Adonis and Venus

Canova and Napoleon:
Background:
From a political point of view, however, these were very turbulent years Napoleon Bonaparte had already victoriously concluded the first Italian campaign, and on February 19, 1797, was signed between the general course and Pius VI the treaty of Tolentino, with which the pontiff He pledged to hand over to the winner works of art and precious manuscripts, as well as Avignon, Contado Venassino and the Legacies were aroused controversy, mainly lit by Quatremère de Quincy who wrote a Lettres sur le projet d'enlever les monuments De l'Italie: in spite of this, convoy with works of art (including Laocoonte and Apollo of the Belvedere) left Rome on 9 May 1797

Even Canova had the expense of this geopolitical instability, so that in the spring of 1797 his retirement pension was suspended and despite the Bonaparte's reassuring reassurances (he himself contacted the Canova, informing him that he had "a droit particulier à la protection de l'Armée D'Italie "), he never came to rest. Judging it dangerous to remain in Rome, he returned to Possagno in 1798, and even went to Austria, where he was warmly welcomed by the court of Francis II of Hapsburg-Lorraine, who He offered to confirm the retirement age: however, Canova refused, not wanting to preclude the possibility of returning to Rome. Instead, he accepted to carry out the great funeral service for Maria Cristina of Austria in the Viennese church of Sant'Agostino, commissioned by Duke Alberto di Saxony-Teschen, husband of the deceased The work, which was very representative of the late-eighteenth-century climax of sepulchral poetry, was later completed by Canova in 1805

After leaving Vienna, Canova went to Prague, Dresden, Berlin and Munich, then returned to the Possagno family and finally to Rome, who eventually considered the only city to be congenial with his artistic virtuosity. On January 5, 1800, Conjoined with jealousy of his colleagues, Canova was even named academic of San Luca, of which he became president in 1810 and perpetual president in 1814. It was a further success in the fame of Canova, which began to be sought in courts throughout Europe: Napoleon, In 1803, wanted a portrait of his signature. Canova was initially very reluctant to put his art in the service of the one who had been the slave of the Venetian Republic, surrendered to Austria following the signing of the Treaty of Campoformio: urged by Pius VII (who was in turn motivated by political opportunism), however, Canova left for Paris, where he arrived on October 6, 1801

The stay in Paris and Paolina Borghese:
Situated in the palace of Caprara's papal nuncio, Canova became the official artist of the Napoleonic regime in Paris. The first work he performed in France was a colossal portrait of Bonaparte in the semblance of Mars pacificatore, in which the general was depicted naked with clams on one shoulder , A victory in one hand and throwing in the other Canova thought that he had made a work destined to remain famous: this did not happen, since Napoleon, in seeing himself completely disguised, feared the judgments of the Parisians and ordered to put the statue in the deposits of the Louvre and cover it with a veil Despite being successfully involved in the cosmopolitan Parisian art scene, having had contact with Jacques-Louis David, during this period Canova was deeply bitter, both for the inglorious destiny touched by his sculpture, but above all for The unfortunate fate of Venice and the continuing haemorrhage of Italian artworks, which were removed in France with the ruthless spaniels They napoleonics Therefore, despite the insistence of Napoleon for standing permanently in Paris, Canova decided to return to Italy Following is the excerpt of a letter addressed to his friend Antonio D'Este on November 7, 1802:

"Do not believe that I am here, that I would not hold on to the whole world of gold [] túlgo too clear that my freedom, my quietness, my studio, my friends is worth more than all these honors [] »
Back in Rome, Canova was greeted very warmly: Angelica Kauffmann even offered him a lunch at his home where he was given the gift of various portraits of Vincenzo Camuccini where he is portrayed while being crowned by a personification of the Tiber Being a member Of the Accademia Meneghina of Fine Arts and "Inspector General of all Fine Arts for Rome and the Papal State, with superintendence to the Vatican and Capitoline Museums and to the Academy of St. Luke", Canova worked in these years at the burial site for Maria Cristina (As already mentioned ending in 1805) and the funeral depot for Vittorio Alfieri, who disappeared in October 1803; In 1806 Giuseppe Bonaparte made him an equestrian monument of the emperor brother to be placed in a public square

In the meantime, the academic accolades were multiplied for the sculptor. Among the academies that honored Canova were the Fine Arts of Florence (1791), the painting of sculpture in Stockholm (1796), the painting of Verona and paintings (1803 ), That of Venice (1804), that of Siena (1805) and the Napoleonic of Lucca (1806) Oltralpe the sculptor was accepted at the Academy of Petersburg (1804), in Geneva (1804) and in Denmark (1805 ) And in the academies of Graz (1812), Marseille (1813), Munich (1814), New York (1817), Antwerp (1818), Vilnius (1818) and Philadelphia Ma Prestige was the performance of Paolina Bonaparte Borghese's portrait in the form of a Venus winner: the opera, completed in 1808, depicts Napoleon's sister lying on a couch, holding the victory boss with a virtuosity to make To take the woman to the dignity of the goddess Always in this period shrunk to With Leopold Cicognara, the Count of Ferrara who entrusted the protection of a young Francesco Hayez (future master of the Italian romantic school)
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