CANOVA, kit-iffiva, ANTONIO (1757-1S22). An Italian sculptor. He was born at Possagno in the Province of Treviso, November 1, 1757. His family had been stone-cutters for generations. and his grandfather taught him the use of the chisel. The lad's talent attracted the attention of the Venetian Senator Giovanni Falieri, who procured him admission, in his fourteenth year, to the at•lier of the sculptor Torretti, who was working in the neighborhood. Canova accom panied the latter to Venice, and after Torretti's death he studied with his nephew Ferrari. Ile also attended the Venetian Academy of Art, studying especially the nude; but found little to inspire him in the debased rococo of the day, and was in the main self-taught. His progress was rapid, and at the age of fifteen he executed for his patron Falieri two statues, "Orpheus" and His "Daedalus and Icarus," executed in his twenty-second year, and now in the Vene tian Academy, was even more famous. \\Iile still in the baroque style. these works show originality, and a careful study of the nude. In 1779, through the influence of Falieri, he re ceived a pension from the Venetian Government, entitling him to three years' study in 1Zome.
He arrived there at a time when the life work of Winekelmann (q.v.) and others was bearing fruit in a new revival of this antique. Through the influence of the Venetian ambassador he was introduced into literary and artistic circles, where he formed his life-long friendship with Quatre mere de Quincy (q.v.), the celebrated French archaeologist and critic, who exercised great in fluence upon his art. Ile threw himself with ardor into the study of the antique, and his "Theseus Vanquishing the Minotaur" showed the fruit of these studies. Exhibited in 1782, it was epoch-making in modern sculpture, as a return from baroque to classic art. lie at once rose to the rank of the first sculptor of his day. A com mission for a monument to Pope Clement XIV., in Santi Apostoli, was assigned to him, and on the successful completion of this work, in 1787, he received a commission for a like monument to Pope Clement Rezzoni•o, in Saint Peter's. in 1795. This is one of his best works. Upon the sarcophagus is an image of the Pope kneeling in prayer, while on the left is a rather still' figure of "Religion," with the cross, and on the right a genius, somewhat effeminate, with the torch of life reversed. Beneath are two splendid lions, the best part of the work.
During this period Canova also executed works of quite a different kind. His famous "Cupid and
Psyche" ( Louvre) , in which the love-god, bending over, raises Psyche from the earth, although not without charm, marks what might be called departure from the antique. because of the con strained position. More attractive is his later representation of the same subject in the Louvre, where Cupid leans confidingly on Psyche's shoul der. watching a butterfly. Among his other fa mous works executed before 1798 are his "Venus and Adonis," in the Naples Museum, celebrated for the caressing attitude of the goddess, and Pouring Nectar" (Berlin). a charming specimen of girlish beauty, and different repre sentations of the same subject in the Royal Pal ace, Munich. lie usually executed several repli ens of works like these, and those cited are either the original, or, failing these, the best-known copy.
in order to show his ability with more virile subjects he carved colossal figures of "Hercules Throwing Li•has into the Sea," now in Palazzo Torlonia, Rome, and of the two Greek boxers, "Creugas and Damoxenos," in the Vatican. Al though deemed successful by contemporaries. the exaggerated action of these statues displeases modern critic's, notwithstanding the great ana tomical knowledge displayed, especially in the in verted figure of Lichas.
While the Pope was expelled from Rome in the revolution of 1798, Canova spent two years traveling in Austria and Germany with Prince Ilezzonico. He returned, however, with the new Pope, and soon afterwards executed his "Perseus," lvhiell was purchased by the Pope, will( general applause, and placed upon the empty pedestal of the "Apollo Belvedere," after whieh it had been modeled. in the Vatican. In 1805 the sculptor was commissioned to execute a substitute for the "Medicean Venus,'' •hieh, like the Apollo, had been taken to Paris by Napoleon. Ills "Venus" now -land- in the Pitti Palace, The "Three Graces" (Saint Petersburg) were executed in rivalry to the antique subject in Siena. Com pa•ed with the antique these works seem lacking in simplicity and sentiment ; they appear arti ficial and sentimental, like the age of Cano•a. Herein lies the importance of Canova as the characteristic representative of his time. Ills art is a transition from the baroque to the parer classical taste of Thorwaldsen and his successors, and his position in the development of modern sculpture is like that of David in painting. lie was the first to show the way to what became One of the most important factors in modern sculpture.