Antonio Canova

Italian, 1757 - 1822

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Italian Neoclassical sculptor (1757–1822)

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A nearly nude woman is carved from cream-white marble in this freestanding sculpture. In this photograph, her body faces us, and she looks to our right in profile. She has a sloping forehead and straight nose, full, closed lips, and a rounded chin. Her curly hair is pulled back but ringlets fall down the back of her neck, and tendrils curl alongside her ears. She holds her left arm, to our right, across her torso so that hand brushes her right breast. She holds drapery to her groin with the other hand, and the cloth puddles behind her feet. She steps slightly forward onto her right leg but her knees are together so the toes of her left foot brush the round, disk-like base on which she stands. The background fades from nickel gray across the top to fog gray along the bottom.
Antonio Canova, Venus, model 1817/1820, carved c. 1822/1823, marble, Corcoran Collection (William A. Clark Collection), 2014.136.242

Venus

Antonio Canova · model 1817/1820, carved c. 1822/1823 · marble ·  Accession ID  2014.136.242

Carved from white marble, a nude woman lies belly down but tipped onto one hip and propped up on her elbows in this freestanding sculpture. In this photograph, the woman’s feet are to our left and her head to our right. Her upper body is further bolstered by what appears to be an animal skin – the flaccid hide of a lion, perhaps. Her right arm, closer to us, lies along the animal’s head, and her other elbow is bent so that pointer finger touches the side of her head. She turns sharply to look back over her right shoulder. She has delicate features, and her wavy hair is pulled back and up. There are two wrinkles where her waist cinches together as she turns to look to our left. One foot is daintily crossed over the other, and she lies on a cloth. The animal skin and cloth drape over a slab-like base. The polished, chest-shaped marble plinth is parchment white with gray veining, and the sculpture is photographed against a gray background.
Antonio Canova, Naiad, model 1815/1817, carved 1820/1823, marble, Gift of Lillian Rojtman Berkman, 2003.62.2

Naiad

Antonio Canova · model 1815/1817, carved 1820/1823 · marble ·  Accession ID  2003.62.2

Carved from white marble, a woman balances on the ball of one foot as she holds one finger to her chin in this freestanding sculpture. The woman’s body faces us in this view, but she tips her head down and to our left and she looks in that direction. Ringlets frame her round face, and the corners of her mouth pull back in a slight smile. Her right elbow, to our left, is bent so she can delicately touch her chin with that pointer finger. The back of her other hand is braced against her hip, and a ring of flowers hangs from that forearm. Fabric is gathered over her shoulders, belted under her bust, and falls in delicate folds to her ankles. The woman is barefoot as she lifts one foot and crosses that ankle in front of the standing leg. Perched on the balls of that second foot, the weight of the sculpture is supported by a column behind the woman. She stands on a disk-like, round base on a pedestal made of polished parchment-brown marble. The sculpture is photographed in front of a gray background.
Antonio Canova, Dancer with Finger on Chin, model 1809/1814, carved 1819/1823, marble, Gift of Lillian Rojtman Berkman, 2003.62.1

Dancer with Finger on Chin

Antonio Canova · model 1809/1814, carved 1819/1823 · marble ·  Accession ID  2003.62.1

Antonio Canova, Winged Victory, c. 1803/1806, bronze, Patrons' Permanent Fund, 1991.125.1

Winged Victory

Antonio Canova · c. 1803/1806 · bronze ·  Accession ID  1991.125.1

Bibliography

1976

  • Pavanello, Giuseppe, and Mario Praz. L'opera completa di Canova. Milan, 1976.

1983

  • Licht, Fred, and David Finn. Canova. New York, 1983.

1992

  • Pavanello, Giuseppe, and Giandomenico Romanelli, eds. Antonio Canova. Exh. cat. Museo Civico Correr, Venice; Gipsoteca, Possagno. Venice, 1992.

  • de Benedetti, E. "Canova." In Allgemeines Künstlerlexikon: die bildenden Künstler aller Zeiten und Völker. Edited by Günter Meissner. 83+ vols. Munich and Leipzig, 1983+: 16(1997):173-176.

1996

  • Pavanello, Giuseppe. "Antonio Canova." In The Dictionary of Art. Edited by Jane Turner. 34 vols. New York and London, 1996: 5:625-633.

2000

  • Butler, Ruth, and Suzanne Glover Lindsay, with Alison Luchs, Douglas Lewis, Cynthia J. Mills, and Jeffrey Weidman. European Sculpture of the Nineteenth Century. The Collections of the National Gallery of Art Systematic Catalogue. Washington, D.C., 2000: 56-58.