Antonio Canova was born in 1757 in Possagno, a small village in the Veneto, and rose to become the most celebrated sculptor in Europe — the artist who revived the classical tradition of ideal beauty and made marble seem to breathe. Orphaned young, he was raised by his grandfather, a stonemason, and showed prodigious talent from childhood. Moving to Rome in 1781, he immersed himself in the study of ancient sculpture and quickly attracted international patronage, receiving commissions from popes, kings, emperors, and aristocrats.
His Psyche Revived by Cupid’s Kiss (1793) is one of the most beloved sculptures in the Louvre: the winged god of love lifts the unconscious Psyche in a tender embrace, their bodies forming an X-shaped composition of extraordinary grace. The Three Graces (1814–1817) presents the three goddesses in an intimate embrace, their intertwined bodies carved with a surface finish so fine that the marble seems to glow with inner warmth. Napoleon and his family were devoted patrons: Canova portrayed Napoleon’s sister Pauline as a reclining Venus with such sensual beauty that the sculpture was kept from public view.
Canova’s influence was immense. He was the last great sculptor to work entirely within the classical tradition, and his workshop produced over a hundred major works that set the standard for sculptural elegance across Europe. His ability to combine ideal beauty with emotional tenderness — to make cold marble feel warm — remains one of the supreme achievements of European sculpture.