Museo Gipsoteca Antonio Canova
The seventeenth-century birthplace of the great Neo-Classical sculptor Antonio Canova, in Possagno, Italy.
Similar studio museums...
- Thorvaldsens Museum, Denmark - former studio of Bertel Thorvaldsen (1770-1844), the Danish Neo-Classical successor to Canova
- Museo Vincenzo Vela, Switzerland - the splendid villa that sculptor Vincenzo Vela (1820-1891) returned to his hometown to build
Feature List
- Guided Tours
- Temporary exhibitions
- Musical events programme
Antonio Canova (1757-1822) was born in Passagno, near Venice, in 1757, the son of a stonecutter. He trained at the Accademia di Belle Arti de Venezia and first found fame in the 1770s among the Venetian elite. By 1800, however, he was one of the most celebrated artists in Europe, and his fame only increased with the success of sculptures such as Psyche Revived by Cupid's Kiss (1787), Napoleon as Mars the Peacemaker (1802-1806) and The Three Graces (1814-1817).
Canova retained close ties to his home town of Possagno throughout his life, and in 1814 conceived the idea for a 'Tempio Canoviano' in his home town. After his death in 1822, the contents of his Roman studio were installed there, along with the artist himself, who is buried on the site. The Tempio Canoviano is managed today by the Museo Canova, which is based in Canova's nearby family home. Across both sites, visitors can see Canova's paintings and drawings, along with a selection of the sculptures, in the original interiors, while the 'Torretta' displays his painting studio much as it appeared in the 1820s.
