Maker/Artist
Canova, Antonio
Italian sculptor, painter, draftsman, and architect, 1757-1822
Canova was the most successful and influential Neoclassical sculptor. During the 1780s he developed a new style marked by severity and idealistic purity, which led many of his contemporaries to prefer his ideal sculptures to such previously universally admired antique statues as the Medici Venus and the Farnese Hercules. He was also a popular portrait sculptor, often combining a classicizing format with a naturalistic presentation of features.
