Possagno ,
The Child Canova Modeling a Lion Out of Butter, c. 1885 In 1757, Antonio Canova was born in the
Venetian Republic city of
Possagno to Pietro Canova, a stonecutter, and Angela Zardo Fantolin. In 1761, his father died. A year later, his mother remarried. In 1762, he was put into the care of his paternal grandfather Pasino Canova, who was a
stonemason, owner of a
quarry, Indeed, at the age of nine, he executed two small shrines of
Carrara marble that are still extant. After these works, he appears to have been constantly employed under his grandfather. The statues were begun in 1775, and both were completed by 1777. The pieces exemplify the late
Rococo style. On the year of their completion, both works were exhibited for the
Feast of the Ascension in
Piazza San Marco. Canova was paid 100
gold zecchini for the completed work. With such an intention, there is suggestion that Daedalus is a portrait of Canova's grandfather Pasino. Zulian played a fundamental role in Canova's rise to fame, turning some rooms of his palace into a studio for the artist and placing his trust in him despite Canova's early critics in Rome. The highly regarded work is now in the collection of the
Victoria & Albert Museum, in London. In 1790, he began to work on a funerary monument for
Titian, which was eventually abandoned by 1795. In 1797, he went to
Vienna, He became so successful that he had acquired patrons from across Europe including
France,
England,
Russia,
Austria and
Holland, as well as several members from different royal lineages, and prominent individuals. It was completed in 1806. In 1811, the statue arrived in Paris, but not installed; neither was its bronze copy in the Foro Napoleonico in Milan. The work was not intended for public viewing. In 1808 Canova became an associated member of the
Royal Institute of Sciences, Literature and Fine Arts of the
Kingdom of Holland. In 1814, he began his
The Three Graces. Also in 1815, he visited
London, and met with
Benjamin Haydon. It was after the advice of Canova that the
Elgin Marbles were acquired by the British Museum, with plaster copies sent to
Florence, according to Canova's request. After his 1814 proposal to build a personified statue of Religion for
St. Peter's Basilica was rejected, Canova sought to build his own temple to house it. As recommended by
Thomas Jefferson, the sculptor used the
marble bust of Washington by
Giuseppe Ceracchi as a model. It was delivered on 24 December 1821. The statue and the
North Carolina State House where it was displayed were later destroyed by fire in 1831. A plaster replica was sent by King
Victor Emmanuel III of Italy in 1910, now on view at the
North Carolina Museum of History. A marble copy was sculpted by
Romano Vio in 1970, now on view in the rotunda of the
capitol building. In 1822, he journeyed to Naples, to superintend the construction of wax moulds for an equestrian statue of
Ferdinand VII. The adventure was disastrous to his health, but soon became healthy enough to return to Rome. From there, he voyaged to Venice; however, on 13 October 1822, he died there at the age of 64. As he never married, the name became extinct, except through his stepbrothers' lineage of Satori-Canova. On 12 October 1822, Canova instructed his brother to use his entire estate to complete the Tempio in Possagno. On 25 October 1822, his body was placed in the Tempio Canoviano. His heart was interred at the
Basilica di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari in Venice, and his right hand preserved in a vase at the
Accademia di Belle Arti di Venezia. His memorial service was so grand that it rivaled the ceremony that the city of Florence held for Michelangelo in 1564. In 1826, Giovanni Battista
Sartori sold Canova's Roman studio and took every plaster model and sculpture to Possagno, where they were installed in the
gypsotheque of the
Tempio Canoviano. ==Works==