Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 04.djvu/184

* CANOVA. 150 CANOVA. 1779, through the inthieuue of Falieri, )ic re- ceived a pension from the ^"enetian Government, entitling him to three years' study in Kome. lie arrived there at a time when the life work of Winckelmann (q.v.) and others was Iicarinfj; fruit in a new revival of the aiitiipie. Through tile inllueiK-e of the Venetian ambassador he was introduced into literary and artistic circles, where he formed his life-long friendshi]) with Quatre- m6re de Quincy (q.v.), the celebrated French iirehieologist and critic, who exercised great in- iluence upon his art. He threw himself with ardor into the study of the antique, and his "Theseus Vanquishing the ilinotaur" 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 XIII., Rezzonico, in Saint Peter's, in 1703. This is one of his l)est works. Upon the sarcophagus is an image of the Pope kneeling in prayer, while on the left is a rather stifl' figure of '"Religion," with the cross, and on the right a genius, somewhat elTeminate, 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 wliat might be called a departure from the antique, because of the eon- 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 butterlly. Among his other fa- mous works executed before 1798 are his "Venus and Adonis," in the Xaples ^Museum, celebrated for the caressing attitude of the goddess, and "ITebe Pouring Nectar" (Berlin), a charming specimen of girlish beauty, and different repre- sentations of the same subject in the Royal Pal- ace, !Munich. He usually executed several rej)li- cas 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 Liehas into the Sea," now in Palazzo Torlonia, Rome, and of the two Greek bo.xers, "Creugas and Damoxenos," in the Vatican. Al- though deemed successful by contemporaries, the exaggerated action of these statues displeases modern critics, notwithstanding the great ana- tomical knowledge disjdaycd, esiiecially in the in- verted figure of Liehas. ^^^lile the Pope was expelled from Rome in the revolution of 1798, Canova spent two years traveling in Austria and Germany with Prince Rezzonico. He retirned, however, with the new Pope, and soon afterwards executed his "Perseus," whieii was purchased by the Pope, with general applause, and placed upon the empty jiedcstal of the "Apollo Belvedere," after which it had been modeled, in the Vatican. In 180.5 the sculptor was commissioned to execute a substitute for the •■'Medicean Venus," which, like the Apollo, had been taken to Paris by Napoleon. His "Venus" now stands in the Pitti Palace. The "Three Graces" (Saint Petersburg) were executed in rivalry to the antique subject in Siena. Com- pared with the antique these works seem lacking in simplicity and sentiment: they ai)pear arti- ficial and sentimental, like the age of Canova. Herein lies the importance of Canova as the characteristic representative of his time. His art is a transition from the baro(pie to the purer classical taste of Thorwaldsen and his successors, and his position in the development of modern scul])ture is like that of David in painting. He was the first to show the way to what became one of the most important factors in modern sculpture. Canova was three times sunnnoned to Paris by Napoleon: in 1802, 1805, and 1810. His patriot- ism would not permit him to accept the Em- peror's brilliant inducements to remain in Paris. He pleaded with success for the support of the arts in Italy, but could not induce the Emperor to return the extorted art treasures. He carved the well-kno% ideal bust of Napoleon in the Pitti Palace, and in 1812 he finished a colossal marble statue, in which, according to Rouum cus- tom, the Emjieror is rejjresented imde, as a god. The original nuirble is lost, but an excellent lironze cast is in the court of the Brera Palace, Milan. He also represented Napoleon's sister, Pauline Borghese, as a reclining Venus, his mother Agiippina as Concordia, the Empress !Maria Louisa as Concordia. In 181.5. after the fall of Napoleon, he was .sent as the Poi)e's ambas- sador to Paris, to bring about the return of the art treasures taken from Ronu', and it was chietly owing to his skill as a diplomat that they were returned. On his return to Rome the Pope made him Marquis of Iscliia, the Academy of Saint Luke chose him perpetual president, and the Roman Senate inscribed his name in the Golden Book of the Capitol. During his embassy to Paris he visited London and saw the Elgin marbles, but warmly rejected Lord Elgin's pro- posal to restore them. One of Canova's most celebrated works was the momimeiit ordered, in 1708, by Albert. Prince of Sachsen-Teschcn, for his wife, ^larie Christina. Archduchess of Austria, but not completed till 1805, and erected in the Church of the Augiis- tines in Vienna. It consists of a marble pyra- mid, in front of which are two groups of figures. On the left "Virtue," attended by two beautiful maidens, and. bearing the cinerary urn. strides toward the door of the jiyramid, followed by "Charity," leading a blind old m;in. On the right reclines a lion as guardian of the tomb, and a mourning genius. The composition is mure adajit- ed to a painting or relief than to a work of sculp- ture, and the figures, notwithstanding their beauty, have the effect of artificiality. Among his other sepulchral monuments are that of his friend Volpato, in Santi Apostoli, Rome: of the poet Alfieri, in Santa Croce, Florence : of the last three Stuarts, in Saint Peter's, Rome, and of Pius VI., a praying figure, in Saint Peter's. In these works he appears at his liest. Among his classical subjects are an excellent "Paris" (1807), in Jlunich, "Theseus and the Centaur," in Vienna, and a "Mars and Venus," in London. His famous series of antique dancers are too studied in pose to be pleasing. One of his last works was the plaster model of George Washington, clad as an antique hero, writing his last message, which mav be seen in the museum in his native tomi.