Antonio Canova

Italian sculptor, Antonio Canova - arguably the greatest exponent ofNeoclassical sculpture - was famous for his marble sculptures
of delicate nudes. Working after the excesses of the Baroque style, he carved a niche for himself in the world of neoclassical art.
Called 'the supreme minister of beauty' and 'a unique and truly divine man' by contemporaries, Canova was highly acclaimed in
his time. His international reputation as one of the greatest neoclassical sculptors clearly surpassed that of John Flaxman and
John Gibson. His most famous works include Apollo Crowning Himself (1781, J Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles), Theseus and
the Minotaur (1781, Victoria and Albert Museum), Cupid and Psyche (1786-93, Louvre, Paris), and Paolina Bonaparte Borghese
as Venus Victorious (1808, Rome, Borghese). His tomb for Pope Clement XIV invited direct comparison with Bernini's concept of
the papal tomb; the latter's dazzling polychromy has been replaced by Canova's unsullied Carrara marble, while curvilinear forms
and strong diagonals have been replaced by a rigid system of horizontals and verticals. Although later critics have claimed that
Canova's classicism led to a fatal loss of artistic vitality, his contemporaries took a more high-minded view, praising him for his
superlative feel for Greek sculpture. For instance, spectators who sawTheseus and the Minotaur for the first time were sure that
it was a copy of a Greek original and were shocked to learn it was a contemporary work.

close up cupid
Cupid and Psyche (1786-93, Louvre)

The Three Graces (1813-16)

Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg.
One of the greatest ever
female nudes in art history.

Bertel Thorvaldsen (17701844)

The Danish artist Albert Bertel Thorvaldsen (or Thorwaldsen) is one of the most celebrated of all neoclassical sculptors, and the
undisputed successor to the mantle of the great Italian artist Antonio Canova (1757-1822). Thorwaldsen approached
antique sculpture with the same degree of respect as Canova, but with less originality. In later years, like the English
sculptorJohn Flaxman, he tried to adapt his style to the demands of religious imagery. Born in Denmark, he spent most of his
artistic life working in Rome, employing up to 40 assistants in his workshop. (Note: for details of Thorvaldsen's contemporaries,
see: Neoclassical artists. For details of the architectural designs of the period, see Neoclassical Architecture.)
Famous works of Neoclassical sculpture carved by Thorvaldsen, include: Jason with the Golden Fleece (1803, Thorvaldsens
Museum, Copenhagen);Alexander the Great Entering Babylon (1812, Palazzo del Quirinale, Rome);Christ and the Twelve
Apostles (1819-38, Vor Frue Kirke, Copenhagen); andGanymede Waters Zeus as an Eagle (1817, Thorvaldsens Museum). His
works can be seen in the best art museums and sculpture gardens around the world.

Jason with the Golden Fleece

(1803) Thorvaldsens Museum.
A fine example of Neoclassical art.

Ganymede Waters Zeus as an Eagle

(1817) Thorvaldens Museum copenhagen.

Early Life
Thorvaldsen was born in Copenhagen in 1770. His father came from Iceland, but settled in Denmark to work as a wood-carver.
There are some Icelanders who claim that Thorvaldsen was born in Iceland and could claim descent from Snorri Thorfinnsson,
the first European born in America. Thorvaldsen studied at the Royal Danish Academy of Art and won several awards during his
studies, including the prestigious Gold Medal. As part of this award he was granted a stipend to study in Rome, where he arrived
in 1797.

Other Sculptures
Other important works by Thorvaldsen include:
The Lion of Lucerne (1819-21, Lucerne)
Commissioned to commemorate 600 Swiss Guards who died defending the Tuileries during the French Revolution.
This is a stone statue of a dying lion, lying across broken symbols of the French monarchy. Thorvaldsen created
the design for the lion, but it was a local sculptor, Lukas Ahorn, who carved the rock.
Ganymede Waters Zeus as an Eagle (1817, Thorvaldsens Museum)
Marble statue of a figure offering a drinking cup to an Eagle. Designed from a single viewpoint, the sculpture is
basically held together by its one-dimensional line view. This gives the sculpture an almost relief-like appearance
and shows Thorvaldsen's supreme mastery of line, which he had practiced to perfection in numerous bas-reliefs of
the time.
Hylas Abducted by the Nymphs (1831, Thorvaldsens Museum)
Marble statue of Mercury Preparing to Kill Argus (1818, Thorvaldsens Museum); Marble Monument of Pius VIII
(1853-66, St Peters, Rome); Marble statue of Shepherd (1817-26, City Art Gallery, Manchester); Statue of Byron
(1831, Wren Library, Trinity College, Cambridge); and The Three Graces with Cupid (1817-18, Thorvaldsens
Museum).
He also produced two historical statues for Poland, including an equestrian statue of Prince Jozef
Poniatowski which now stands before the Presidential Palace; and a seated Nicolaus Copernicus, located before the
Polish Academy of Sciences buildingboth located on Warsaw's Krakowskie Przedmiescie.
Additionally a bronze copy of Thorvaldsen's Self-Portrait can be found in Central Park, New York, near the East 97
Street entrance.
Legacy
Bertel Thorvaldsen died in 1844. One of the greatest sculptors from Denmark, and the first Danish artist to attain
worldwide success, he was prominent in intellectual and artistic circles and influenced many emerging artists from
the United States and Europe. He bequeathed most of his fortune to his own museum and left instructions for all

his works of art to be donated to the museum. All the models for his sculpture and a large collection of other
contemporary artists works were included in the endowment.