Antonio Canova: a Practitioner of Neoclassicism and Napoleon’s Favorite Sculptor

Antonio Canova Cupid and Psyche 1787-1793 marble

Antonio Canova Cupid and Psyche 1787-1793 marble

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Connect it to:DonatelloDavid (front view)c. 1430 bronze

Antonio CanovaThe Penitent Magdalene1796marble, height 94 cmPalazzo Bianco, Genoa

Was this sculpture created for a public or private setting?

Antonio CanovaTheseus and the Centaur1804-19Marble, height 340 cmKunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna

Was this sculpture created for a public or private setting?

Paulina Borghese as Venus Victrix 1804-08 white marble

detail: Pauline Borghese as Venus 1804-08 white marble

Not a shy woman, Napoleon's sister commissioned this sculpture of herself. She demanded to be represented as the goddess of love. Her husband, Prince Borghese, was the work’s official patron; he kept this sculpture hidden away in their villa in Rome. People were allowed to look at it only by torchlight (see Gardner, 853-854).

This sculpture added to Pauline’s already fairly notorious reputation. The fact that everyone knew about the sculpture and few had seen it, only added to the sculpture’s fame.

This is a work that represents an idealized vision of the female form, but Canova has also labored hard to represent the accompanying details of the couch and pillows with extraordinary naturalism.