Antonio Canova: a Practitioner of Neoclassicism and Napoleon’s Favorite Sculptor Canova specialized in two types of work: grand public monuments for Europe’s leaders and erotic, mythological subjects such as Cupid and Psyche, for the pleasure of private collectors (Stokstad, 952-953).

The love affair between Cupid and Psyche is one of the best known classical myths, recounted in the Latin novel The Golden Ass by Apuleius. Many Neoclassical paintings and sculptures derived inspiration from the story. Cupid, lover of the mortal Psyche, forbids her to cast eyes upon him and visits her only at night. Disobeying him, Psyche holds a light over his sleeping body, for which she is punished by Aphrodite. The scene conveyed by this modello is of Psyche being rescued in Cupid's embrace.

Antonio Canova Cupid and Psyche 1787-1793 marble Cupid revives the lifeless Psyche with a kiss This sculpture combines both classical and “romantic” elements Was this sculpture created for a public or private setting? How can you tell? Connect it to: Donatello David (front view) c. 1430 bronze

Antonio Canova Cupid and Psyche 1787-1793 marble

Antonio Canova Napoleon as Mars the Peacemaker 1803-06 marble, height 326 cm Wellington Museum Apsley House, London Was this sculpture created for a public or private setting?

Antonio Canova Perseus with the Head of Medusa 1804-1806 marble Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Antonio Canova Perseus with the Head of Medusa King Polydectes, who wanted Danae to become his wife. King Polydectes, knew that he wouldn’t be able to have Danae for himself as long as Perseus was present to protect her. In order to have access to Danae, the king sent Perseus far away on a dangerous mission. Polydectes told Perseus to bring him the head of the gorgon Medusa. Medusa was one of three sisters, the gorgons, but she was the only mortal one. Medusa was so beautiful that Poseidon was crazy about her, but she didn’t care about him; Poseidon turned her and her sisters into monsters with live snakes covering their heads. Medusa kept her beautiful face but everything else was so monstrous. And whoever dared to look into her face ended up being turned into stone. Perseus thus had a difficult task. He asked Athena and Hermes for help and two of them, together with the nymphs, provided winged sandals to fly him to the end of the world where gorgons lived, a cap that made him invisible, a sword and a mirrored shield. The mirrored shield was the most important tool Perseus had, since it allowed him to see a reflection of Medusa’s face and to avoid being turned into stone. When he cut Medusa’s head off, from the drops of her blood suddenly appeared two offspring: Pegasus, a winged horse, and Chrysaor, a giant or a winged boar. It’s believed that those two were Medusa’s children with Poseidon. In any case, once he accomplished his task Perseus flew back and escaped Medusa’s sisters who tried to reach him. Later, Perseus used Medusa’s head as a weapon on many occasions until he gave the head to Athena to place it on her shield. The myth of Perseus and Medusa was one the most powerful inspiration for many artists in the ancient times, but it hasn’t lost its artistic significance to the present day either. Paintings and sculptures of the moment of beheading or Medusa’s portrait itself are famous all over the world. One of the most known art work is the Medusa shield by Caravaggio, painted at the end of the 16th century. It is exposed in the Uffizi museum in Florence. Close by the museum, in the main plaza of Firenze (Florence) there is a sculpture of Perseus. Caravaggio Head of Medusa 1598-1599

Was this sculpture created for a public or private setting? Antonio Canova Theseus and the Centaur 1804-19 Marble, height 340 cm Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna Was this sculpture created for a public or private setting? Theseus's best friend was Pirithous, prince of the Lapiths. Pirithous had heard stories of Theseus's courage and strength in battle but wanted proof, so he rustled Theseus's herd of cattle and drove it from Marathon, and Theseus set out in pursuit. Pirithous took up his arms and the pair met to do battle, but were so impressed with each other they took an oath of friendship and joined the hunt for the Calydonian Boar. In Iliad I, Nestor numbers Pirithous and Theseus "of heroic fame" among an earlier generation of heroes of his youth, "the strongest men that Earth has bred, the strongest men against the strongest enemies, a savage mountain-dwelling tribe whom they utterly destroyed." No trace of such an oral tradition, which Homer's listeners would have recognized in Nestor's allusion, survived in literary epic. Later, Pirithous was preparing to marry Hippodamia. The centaurs were guests at the wedding feast, but got drunk and tried to abduct the women, including Hippodamia. The Lapiths won the ensuing battle. In Ovid's Metamorphoses Theseus fights against and kills Eurytus, the "fiercest of all the fierce centaurs"[16] at the wedding of Pirithous and Hippodamia.

Centaur and Lapith The Parthenon, metope relief c. 440’s BCE This sculpture from the Parthenon shows a Centaur rearing triumphantly over a dying human Lapith.

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.