L'Italo-Americano

THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2022 www.italoamericano.org 18 L'Italo-Americano T his year we cele- b r a t e o n e o f I t a l y ' s m o s t important artis- t i c f i g u r e s , sculptor Antonio Canova, the main representative of sculptural neoclassicism in our country. Canova, who was born in Possagno, in the Treviso province of Veneto, in 1757, was known to his contemporaries as "the new Fidia" because of how much his work resembled in style a n d a r t i s t r y , t h a t o f t h e greatest among all classical sculptors. A s o f t e n h a p p e n s w i t h creative geniuses, Canova d i d n ' t h a v e a s i m p l e l i f e , especially during childhood. His father died when he was only four and his mother left him after marrying again. Young Antonio was, then, brought up by his grandpar- ents, a factor that certainly influenced him as a person, b u t a l s o a s a n a r t i s t : h i s g r a n d a d , P a s i n o C a n o v a , was a sculptor and a fore- man, and introduced him early to the secret of his art. Legends say that, when he was a child, he participat- ed in a dinner organized by a n i m p o r t a n t V e n e t i a n n o b l e m a n , G i o v a n n i Falier and that, perhaps b o r e d b y t h e d i s c u s s i o n s around the table which, we m a y i m a g i n e , m u s t h a v e b e e n u t t e r l y h e a v y f o r a youngster, he killed some t i m e b y c a r v i n g V e n i c e ' s winged lion out of a pat of b u t t e r . H i s h o s t w a s s o impressed by his talent that he decided to become his mentor and patron. Just a tale, of course, but rooted in truth: Canova's grandfather had been com- missioned a series of works by Falier and, aware of his grandchild's talent, he made sure Antonio was among the craftsmen at the service of the aristocrat. Falier was so i m p r e s s e d b y t h e y o u t h ' s work that he sent him to the atelier of a known sculptor, Giuseppe Bernardi. In 1768, at only 11 years of age, Antonio moved to Venice, to work and learn under the wing of Torretti: h e r e , h e f l o u r i s h e d a n d developed further his talent by attending classes and the A c c a d e m i a d i N u d o a n d , later, studying the statues at the Ca' Farsetti gallery, in Rialto. In Venice, Antonio created his first works, com- m i s s i o n e d b y h i s p a t r o n Falier. In a short time, and at an incredibly young age, C a n o v a b e c a m e a h i g h l y s o u g h t - a f t e r a r t i s t i n t h e Serenissima. At 20, he was f a m o u s , a n d a t 2 2 h e b e c a m e a m e m b e r o f t h e Accademia Veneziana, the ultimate formal symbol of artistic greatness in the city. S o o n , V e n i c e w a s n o longer enough for Canova and his art: he spent time in F l o r e n c e a n d i n R o m e , w h e r e h i s w o r k b e c a m e internationally known. He also spent time in Naples. Each step made him better known to a public of spon- sors and art lovers who all coveted his works and want- e d s o m e t h i n g f o r t h e m - selves, including the Pope, w h o c o m m i s s i o n e d t w o monuments to the Venetian, including a funerary one. He settled in the Eternal City, even though he spent some time traveling and working a r o u n d E u r o p e , a n d a l s o back in Possagno, his birth- place, where he returned for a w h i l e t r y i n g t o r e c o v e r from a series of physical ail- ments that had begun affect- ing him. Perhaps, the most impor- tant work relationship Anto- nio ever had in his life was t h a t h e c u l t i v a t e d w i t h Napoleon Bonaparte. As a Venetian, the artist must have not been too fond of the feisty general from Cor- sica: it was because of him that the glorious Republic of Venice came to an end after long centuries of glory. But as an artist, the patronage of the emperor was important and could not be refused: for Napoleon, Canova produced a famous sculptural portrait, N a p o l e o n a s M a r s t h e Peacemaker, today at Apsley House, in London, repre- senting the emperor as the Roman god of War and mili- tary strategy. The work was completed in Rome in 1806. Two years later, he finished a j u s t a s f a m o u s p i e c e , Pauline Bonaparte as Venus Victrix, a marble portrait of Pauline Bonaparte - sister of Napoleon and wife to Camil- lo Borghese, today at Villa Borghese. Among his most famous - and recognizable - works, we can count also The Three Graces, of which two ver- sions exist, one owned joint- ly by the Victoria and Albert Museum of London and the Scottish National Gallery, the other at the Hermitage, in Saint Petersburg; and, of course, Psyche Revived by Cupid's Kiss, completed in 1793 and today at the Lou- vre in Paris. Despite his international fame, Canova never accept- ed the idea of moving forev- er out of Italy, which he con- sidered the cradle of art. He died in Venice in 1822 and h i s b e l o v e d c o u n t r y , t h i s year, honors the anniversary of his death with an impor- t a n t i n i t i a t i v e t h a t i s , a t once, a tribute to his great- ness, and an important work of artistic conservation: the digitalization of the largest collection of his manuscripts and sketches. The corpus, which is preserved at the Biblioteca Civica di Bassano del Grappa, in the province o f V i c e n z a ( V e n e t o ) , includes more than 40,000 p a g e s f r o m 6 , 6 5 8 d o c u - ments such as letters, notes, t r a v e l l o g s a n d p r i v a t e diaries. The Fondo Cano- viano has been digitalized thanks to the interest and support of the Bassano del Grappa library that hosts the d o c u m e n t s a n d h a s b e e n carried out this year also as a w a y t o c o m m e m o r a t e Canova two centuries after his death. The project has been carried out by a group of enterprises leading in the high-definition scansion and digitalization of cultural and artistic patrimony such as Mida Informatica. Hyper- borea, a known name in the f i e l d o f c a t a l o g i n g , i s i n charge of ordering and cata- loging the corpus. GIULIA FRANCESCHINI Antonio Canova, the most important neoclassical sculptor in Italy (Photo: Georgios Kollidas/Dreamstime) Antonio Canova, the man who made marble supple like velvet A monument dedicated to Antonio Canova in Padua (Photo: Crisfotolux/Dreamstime) HERITAGE HISTORY IDENTITY TRADITIONS PEOPLE

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