Canova

Italian sculptor. Born on November 1, 1757 in Possagno (Treviso) in northeastern Italy; died in Venice on October 13, 1822. From 1783 to 1792, he designed the tomb sculptures for Popes Clement XIV and XIII. In 1805, he also made a monument sculpture for Princess Maria Christina of Austria. The shapes of the works are highly ideal and polished, but sometimes they are dull and stylized. He is a representative figure of neoclassical sculpture.

Chinese name: Antonio Canova

Foreign name: Canova, Antonio

Nationality: Italy

Birthplace: Posa Neo

Date of birth: November 1, 1757

Date of death: October 13, 1822

Occupation: Sculptor

Representative work: "Mother of Napoleon"

Character profile

Antonio Canova (1757～1822) Canova, Antonio

Life story

He was born into a family of sculptors, but unfortunately his family fell into decline and he had no food to eat and no clothing to cover his body. As a last resort, he went out to work to make a living. He worked as a servant in the house of a local duke, doing menial tasks in the kitchen. One day, the nobleman was going to hold a grand dinner and invited some celebrities. But before the banquet started, the butler found that the dessert decorations on the dining table were broken. This made the butler anxious. In an extremely urgent moment, the working boy asked the housekeeper to let him try. He could get a replacement jewelry in a short time. There was no other way. The housekeeper was doubtful and had to let him try it first. The boy used extremely skillful techniques to shape a large ball of butter into a lifelike, mighty and majestic lion. The butler couldn't believe that this was a child's work, so he happily brought the butter lion to the table.

As a result, the lion became the main topic of discussion among the princes and nobles at the banquet. What was supposed to be a feast of delicacies turned into a butter lion appreciation party. When someone asked which sculptor had created the masterpiece, the steward introduced the boy who had given him the relief he needed. When everyone learned that this exquisite work was completed in a hurry by a poor child, everyone was amazed! They all praised the child's talent, and the master also felt that the servant had earned him enough face, so he announced in public that he would fund the child's further education so that his talents could be fully utilized.

The master did not break his promise, and the little boy did not let luck go to his head. He studied the art seriously with a simple and diligent heart. He understood that this was a major turning point in his life and that if he did not study hard, he would achieve nothing.

Eventually, he became one of the greatest sculptors in the world, Canova.

Works

Representative works

Name: "The Mother of Napoleon"

Period: 1804-1807 AD

Material: Marble

Specifications: 145 cm high and 145 cm long

Creator: Antonio Canova

Depository: Louvre Museum, Paris, France Museum

Other works

"Psyche Resurrected by Cupid's Kiss", hidden in the Louvre

The monastery provided him with a room Atelier, where he studied human anatomy and sometimes at the academy, but mainly from nature, for about three years he completed no work. He then completed a series of works that were admired, the most important of which was Daedalus and His Son Icarus, Flying to the Sun, and his talent was recognized.

At the age of 24, he left Venice for development in Rome, and received a grant from the Venetian Senate (approximately 60 pounds per year, a maximum of three years of funding), and received enthusiastic help from the Venetian minister in Rome.

"Theseus Kills the Minotaur"

On December 28, 1780, he arrived in Rome and began a new stage. Here, his work "Theseus Killed the Minotaur" "Dead Minotaur" was a great success, and the simplicity and natural expression of this work formed his future style.

Another of his works, a monument to Pope Clement XIV, took four years to complete and established him among the most famous artists of his time.

It took him another five years to complete the monument to Pope Clement XIII. Since then, his reputation has increased, he accepted a series of orders, and created "Cupid and Cupid". Psyche", the Russian Tsar once invited him to St. Petersburg, but he refused. He said: "Italy is my country and the birthplace of art. I cannot leave her. I grew up here. If my To be able to be used in other lands, it must be beneficial to Italy. How can it be abandoned to serve other countries? "But there are still many of his works collected in Russia.

From 1795 to 1797, he created a series of famous works.

In 1798, due to the invasion of the French army, he returned to his hometown and created only some paintings. He returned to Rome a year later, but his health was no longer as good as before. He traveled to Germany for a period of time. After returning, his health improved and he immediately returned to work.

In 1815, the Pope ordered him to go to Paris to supervise the recovery of the artworks looted by Napoleon. In the autumn, he visited London. In early 1816, he returned to Rome and was appointed to the main art academy of Saint-Loup in Rome. The Pope personally designated him as the dean of the Academy of Grammar, and he was given the title of Marquis of Ischia with an annual salary of 3,000 crowns.

He completed a series of religious works, including the statue of Pope Pius VI, "Mars and Venus", "La Pietà", "St. John" and "Mary Magdalene" Leah" etc.

In May 1822, he visited Naples to inspect the statue of Ferdinand VII which was being used as a wax mold. His health deteriorated further and improved somewhat after returning to Rome. At the end of the year, he was on his way back to his hometown. , died in Venice at the age of 65. His body was buried in a temple in his hometown, and his heart was hidden in the marble pyramid-shaped tomb he had designed for Titian.

Style of work

In the 18th century when Canova lived, the relatively traditional concept in the entire sculpture art world believed that sculpture art creation should focus on whether the form is perfect and whether the lines are smooth. This creative style with extremely strong classicism is also one of the more recognized artistic benchmarks in the industry. Entering the period of the French bourgeois revolution, the style that focused on form and detail gradually evolved into a revolutionary propaganda medium. The classical art style of this period was "neoclassicism". Neoclassicism emphasized architecture, fine arts, In the fusion of sculpture and sculpture, Canova played an important role under the influence and promotion of neoclassicism.

During Canova's lifetime of artistic creation, his works were full of idealistic sentiments, with smooth and lustrous details, but some of his works were too formulaic. But overall, Canova is a representative figure of the neoclassical sculpture style.