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Workshop of Antonio Canova (Italian, 1757-1822)
Venus Italica, about 1815-22
Marble, H. 67 3/4 in. (172.1 cm.)
Purchased with funds from the North Carolina Art Society (Robert F. Phifer Bequest), 92.2
Canova carved the original Venus Italica to replace the ancient Roman Medici Venus, seized by Napoleon in 1802 from the Uffizi Gallery in Florence. In the true Neoclassical spirit, Canova decided to reinterpret the ancient work rather than carve an exact replica. Drawing inspiration from other classical statues of the goddess, he made several significant changes in the figure; as a result, his Venus appears more natural and her movement more gentle than the Medici Venus. The Venus Italica was immediately hailed as Canova's masterpiece and a worthy successor to the ancient Venus. "When I saw this divine work of Canova," wrote the poet Ugo Foscolo in 1811, "I sighed with a thousand desires, for really, if the Medici Venus is a most beautiful goddess, this is a most beautiful woman."
The beauty and fame of the first Venus Italica created a market for replicas, and at least four versions were executed in Canova's studio before his death. The finesse of the carving and the careful finish of the Museum's version indicate that it was carved by one of the Canova's more talented pupils, probably under the master's supervision. In its conception and execution, the Venus Italica is a quintessentially Neoclassical work, combining the classical ideals and the virtuosic technique that distinguished Canova as the greatest and most influential sculptor of his day.
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