Antonio Canova was an Italian Neoclassical sculptor, famous for his marble sculptures. Often regarded as the greatest of the Neoclassical artists, his artwork was inspired by the Baroque and the classical revival, but avoided the melodramatics of the former, and the cold artificiality of the latter.
Early Life
In 1757,
Antonio Canova was born in Possagno to Pietro Canova, a stonecutter. In 1761, his father died, and a year later, his mother remarried. As such, in 1762, he was put into the care of his paternal grandfather Pasino Canova, who was a stonemason, owner of a quarry, and was a "sculptor who specialized in altars with statues and low reliefs in late Baroque style". He led
Antonio Canova into the art of sculpting.
Before the age of ten,
Antonio Canova began making models in clay, and carving marble. Indeed, at the age of nine, he executed two small shrines of Carrara marble, which are still extant. After these works, he appears to have been constantly employed under his grandfather.
Career
In 1770,
Antonio Canova was an apprentice for two years to Giuseppe Bernardi, who was also known as 'Torretto'. Afterwards, he was under the tutelage of Giovanni Ferrari until he began his studies at the
Accademia di Belle Arti di Venezia. At the Academy, he won several prizes. During this time, he was given his first workshop within a monastery by some local monks.
The Senator Giovanni Falier commissioned
Antonio Canova to produce statues of Orpheus and Eurydice for his garden – the
Villa Falier at Asolo. The statues were begun in 1775, and both were completed by 1777. The pieces exemplify the late Rococo style.
In 1779, he opened his own studio at Calle Del Traghetto at S. Maurizio. At this time, Procurator Pietro Vettor Pisani commissioned
Antonio Canova's first marble statue: a depiction of Daedalus and Icarus.
In 1781, Girolamo Zulian – the Venetian ambassador to Rome – hired
Antonio Canova to sculpt Theseus and the Minotaur. The statue depicts the victorious Theseus seated on the lifeless body of a Minotaur.
Important:
Antonio Canova's work was highly regarded, and he became one of the most celebrated artists in Europe. He systematically promoted his reputation by publishing engravings of his works and having marble versions of plaster casts made in his workshop.
Visit https://WahooArt.com/@/Antonio-Canova to learn more about
Antonio Canova's life and work, and to explore the
Museum Gipsoteca Antonio Canova, which houses the most significant collection of works by the great Neoclassical sculptor.