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Portrait of Antonio Canova, Henri Grévedon, 1826 (Rijksmuseum)

Antonio Canova was born in Possagno in 1757 into a family of stonemasons: sculpture was almost his destiny. After training in Venice, he moved to Rome in 1781, where his art reached full maturity. Works such as Theseus and the Minotaur reveal an extraordinary mastery of marble: the surfaces seem alive, the stone becomes flesh. His fame grew rapidly, spreading beyond Italy’s borders — Napoleon was among those who commissioned works from him — and his name became synonymous with a new aesthetic: simple, regular forms inspired by classical antiquity. He is considered, alongside the painter Jacques-Louis David, one of the principal precursors of Neoclassicism.

In Possagno, his birthplace, he designed the Canovian Temple, which became his final resting place. He died in 1822: commemorations were held in Rome, Venice and Possagno, and the whole of Europe mourned his loss.

Antonio Canova is known throughout the world as the greatest neoclassical sculptor of the late 18th and early 19th century. He is regarded - together with the painter Jacques Louis David - as the forerunner of a new, simple and regular aesthetic form inspired by classical antiquity. An undeniable talent can also be found in the carving of marble surfaces, such that his works of art seem alive.Canova can be said to be a child of art, born into a family of sculptors and stonemasons on 1 November 1757, in Possagno, a town in the province of Treviso. In particular, his grandfather Pasino and his f

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