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Lot Essay
Antonio Canova (1757-1822) is widely recognized as one of the finest neoclassical sculptors of his age, often being referred to by his contemporaries as 'the supreme minister of beauty'; his status was cemented in 1802 with his appointment as 'Inspector for the Belle Arte' by Pope Pius VII.
The marble bust of Perseus is based on Perseus with the Head of Medusa which was executed between 1797-1801 and is housed in the Musei Vaticani, Rome. This initial composition was so celebrated that the Polish countess Waleria Strynowska Tarnowska subsequently commissioned Canova to execute another version in marble, which, after being sold by her descendants in 1850, is now in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. The marble bust of Paris is derived from Canova's highly acclaimed monumental sculpture of Paris which he produced for the Empress Josephine between 1807 and 1812. Again the sculpture was widely celebrated and so Canova produced a series of busts to meet the demand and whilst the majority of the busts were produced by Canova's workshop assistants, a small number were also executed by Canova himself, such as the example of circa 1815, in the collection of the Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg and another in the Neue Pinakoteke, Munich; (see S. Androsov, M. Guderzo and G. Pavanello, Canova, Milano, 1976, no. 121 and 124).
The marble bust of Perseus is based on Perseus with the Head of Medusa which was executed between 1797-1801 and is housed in the Musei Vaticani, Rome. This initial composition was so celebrated that the Polish countess Waleria Strynowska Tarnowska subsequently commissioned Canova to execute another version in marble, which, after being sold by her descendants in 1850, is now in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York. The marble bust of Paris is derived from Canova's highly acclaimed monumental sculpture of Paris which he produced for the Empress Josephine between 1807 and 1812. Again the sculpture was widely celebrated and so Canova produced a series of busts to meet the demand and whilst the majority of the busts were produced by Canova's workshop assistants, a small number were also executed by Canova himself, such as the example of circa 1815, in the collection of the Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg and another in the Neue Pinakoteke, Munich; (see S. Androsov, M. Guderzo and G. Pavanello, Canova, Milano, 1976, no. 121 and 124).