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Burial Monument of Antonio Canova inside the Frari - Photo: Cat Bauer
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(Venice, Italy) Antonio Canova was considered the greatest sculptor of his time. When he died in Venice just before his 65th birthday, the super-star artist was mourned throughout the world. Born in the Venetian village of Possagno in the foothills of the Dolomites on November 1, 1757, he died 200 years ago on October 13, 1822. To commemorate the anniversary, Venice in Peril Fund, a charity based in the United Kingdom that conserves projects in Venice, restored his imposing burial monument inside the Frari church, which is in the startling form of a pyramid.
The monument is a cenotaph, which is a word derived from the Greek "kenos taphos" and means "empty tomb." However, the Cenotaph of Canova is not entirely empty. His heart is interred in the small burial chamber behind the half-open bronze door on the front of the pyramid. It is a tomb that Canova designed himself -- but not for himself.
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Where is Canova's heart? Behind the bronze door - Photo: Cat Bauer
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Canova was a Freemason, and his enormous cenotaph constructed from blocks of Carrara marble is embellished with symbolism. Erected in 1827 by his pupils five years after the sculptor's death, it was inspired by Canova's own designs for the cenotaph for Titian, the celebrated Venetian Renaissance artist who had died centuries earlier on August 27, 1576 at about age 95 from the plague. Titian wanted to be buried in the Frari -- and he was, but without a memorial marking his grave.
It took more than 200 years, but in 1790, Canova was finally commissioned to create Titian's mausoleum. When Napoleon's forces occupied Venice in 1797, it became impossible to erect Titian's tomb, so Canova's commission was never completed. (Poor Titian! Annoyances like deadly plagues and the collapse of the Venetian Republic kept getting in the way of him having a proper tomb.)
Today, you can visit Canova's models for the Titian tomb at the Accademia Galleries inside the newly restored ground floor rooms of the Palladio
Wing, along with lots of other Canova goodies.
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Model of Monument to Titian by Canova (c.1792) - Photo: Cat Bauer
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Model of Monument to Titian by Canova (1795) - Photo: Cat Bauer
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It wouldn't be until several decades later, years after Canova's own burial monument was constructed, that Titian's completely re-designed tomb was erected around 1850 directly across from Canova's cenotaph inside the massive Frari Church, thanks to Ferdinand I, the Emperor of Austria. After being on Venice's "to-do list" for nearly 300 centuries, Titian finally received a burial memorial that commemorated his vast talent.
Titian was the first person who inspired Canova's pyramid tomb art, but he was not the last. After the collapse of the Venetian Republic in 1797, Venice was tossed back and forth between the French and the Austrians. While under Austrian domination in 1798, Duke Albert von Sachsen-Teschen asked Canova to design a cenotaph for his wife, Duchess Maria Christina of Teschen, who had died earlier that year, and was buried in the Imperial Crypt in Vienna. Canova incorporated many of the same elements he had designed for Titian's tomb onto the cenotaph for Maria Christina, which was completed in 1805, and is inside St. Augustine's Church in Vienna.
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I've written several times about Canova, whose life paralleled world events that shook the planet, from the Napoleon conquests to the founding of the United States of America. Everybody who was anybody wanted Canova to preserve them in marble. By reading some of my previous posts, linked below, you can get a good sense of what was happening around the time of Canova, and gain some history. Just click the links if you'd like to read the entire posts.
One of my favorite posts is about Canova's sculpture of George Washington as a Roman general. Since Washington was already dead at the time of Canova's commission, he had to use his imagination by first creating a sculpture of George Washington in the nude. From 2014:
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George Washington in the Nude by Canova - Photo: Cat Bauer
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(Venice, Italy) I was astonished to learn that Antonio Canova
(1757-1822), the renowned sculptor from the village of Possagno in the
Veneto, had been commissioned to create a sculpture of George Washington
by the North Carolina General Assembly back in 1816 for their State
House when the Carolinians were feeling euphoric after the War of 1812.
Thomas Jefferson himself
urged that Canova, whom he considered the greatest sculptor in the
world, create the neoclassical statue, which was delivered to the United
States on a war vessel, and arrived in Raleigh on December 24, 1821.
Canova's depiction of Washington as an enlightened Roman general became
"the pride and glory" of North Carolina, attracting visitors from near
and far to their state capitol, including Washington's close friend,
Lafayette. Keep reading.
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George Washington for North Carolina
General Assembly
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Then in October 2017, there was a fantastic exhibition at the Gallerie dell'Accademia entitled
Canova, Hayez, Cicognara - The Ultimate Glory of Venice. I wrote two posts about the show:
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| Horse of St. Mark's plaster copy - Photo: Cat Bauer |
(Venice, Italy) When Napoleon forced the Venetian Republic to surrender on May 12, 1797 and ended the 1000-year-old realm of La Serenissima,
his soldiers hauled a lot of loot back to France -- the most cherished
being the four bronze horses on the outside of Saint Mark's Basilica,
dating from antiquity. In 1205, Venice herself had plundered the four
horses from Constantinople, capital of the Roman Empire and Christian
civilization. Napoleon hoisted the horses up on the Arc de Triomphe du
Carrousel in Paris to commemorate his victories.
The French swiped many other precious works of art, and hacked to pieces
five thousand winged lions, the symbol of St. Mark, Venice's
evangelist. They also nabbed the prized Lion of San Marco that was on
the column in Piazza San Marco.
In celebration of the 200th anniversary of the opening of the Gallerie
dell'Accademia in 1817, much of the plundered art has been gathered
together in an outstanding exhibition entitled Canova, Hayez, Cicognara - The Ultimate Glory of Venice,
curated by Paola Marini, Fernando Mazzocca and Roberto De Feo. The show
offers not only a chance to see some exceptional works of art, but also
an opportunity to learn some history about the tumultuous time.
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Canova Temple in Possagno - Photo: Cat Bauer
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Canova's right hand used to be inside the Accademia di Belle Arti, and many sites on the Internet still erroneously say it is there, but it is not. In 2010, it joined the rest of his body (except for his heart) up in his hometown village of Possagno in a magnificient Temple that Canova designed and paid for himself-- in fact, he laid the cornerstone on July 11, 1819. He did not live to see it completed. He entrusted the work to his half-brother Giovanni Battista Sartori, who became a bishop and consecrated it himself on May 7, 1832.
It is well worth a trip to Possagno to experience the Temple, as well as Gypsotheca wing designed by Carlo Scarpa, filled with many of the wondrous plaster casts created by Canova -- including George Washington in the nude!
(Possagno,
Italy) During his lifetime, Antonio Canova was the most celebrated
artist in Europe. The neo-classical sculptor carved images of the gods
into human form, and carved exceptional humans into marble gods. He
immortalized both Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte and President George
Washington in marble, depicting Napoleon as "Mars the Peacemaker" and
Washington decked out as an ancient Roman general, complete with
sandals. Canova captured love and beauty and courage and strength, and
carved those noble attributes solidly into stone.
...A
day trip to Possagno is a wonderful way to enrich a stay in Venice and
gaze upon some works of genius far from the maddening crowds. First,
visit the Correr Museum in Piazza San Marco and the Accademia Gallery
to see what Canova treasures are in La Serenissima herself. (The
original Canova marble monument to Admiral Angelo Emo is inside the
Naval Museum, which is being restored.) Then, head up to Possagno. If
you don't have a car, take the train to Bassano del Grappa, and then the
bus, which drops you off right in front of the door.
Go to the Gypsotheca and Canova Museum
for more information, and be sure to read my other two posts about
Canova to get a more complete picture about the sculptor who turned
humans into gods.
Ciao from Venezia,
Cat Bauer
