Where can you see Antonio Canova in Rome?

At the Galleria Borghese: Pauline Bonaparte as Venus Victrix. At the Vatican Museums: Perseus with the Head of Medusa. At St Peter's Basilica: The tomb of Clement XIII. At the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea: Hercules and Lichas. Museums move and lend their works, so check before a special journey.

What is Antonio Canova's most famous work in Rome?

Pauline Bonaparte as Venus Victrix, of 1805 to 1808, at the Galleria Borghese. Napoleon's sister, who had married a Borghese prince, reclining with the apple of Venus in her hand. Her husband kept the statue locked away. It once turned on a mechanism in its base.

When and where was Antonio Canova born?

On 1 November 1757, at Possagno, Italy. Antonio Canova died on 13 October 1822, at Venice, Italy, aged about 65.

What is Antonio Canova known for?

Carved Pauline Bonaparte as Venus. Brought the Vatican's antiquities back from Paris in 1815. The leading sculptor of Neoclassicism. Antonio Canova was an Italian sculptor, of Neoclassicism.

Sculptor, 1757 to 1822

Antonio Canova

Canova was to his time what Bernini had been to his: the sculptor every ruler wanted. He worked in Rome for forty years, in a studio near Piazza del Popolo.

Canova's marble of Pauline Bonaparte as Venus, reclining on a couch with an apple in her hand. — Architas, CC BY-SA 4.0

Canova's Perseus in the Vatican Museums, holding up the head of Medusa. — Antonio Canova, Public domain

A self-portrait of Antonio Canova as a young man. — Antonio Canova, Public domain

Born: 1757, Possagno, Italy
Died: 1822, Venice, Italy
Movement: Neoclassicism
In Rome: 4 works in 4 museums

Where to see Antonio Canova in Rome

Each work with the museum it hangs in. Museums move and lend their works, so check before a special journey.

Galleria Borghese1 work

Pauline Bonaparte as Venus Victrix
1805 to 1808
Napoleon's sister, who had married a Borghese prince, reclining with the apple of Venus in her hand. Her husband kept the statue locked away. It once turned on a mechanism in its base.

Vatican Museums1 work

Perseus with the Head of Medusa
1797 to 1801
Bought by Pope Pius VII to stand where the Apollo Belvedere had stood before the French took it. It is in the Belvedere courtyard still, beside the Apollo it replaced.

St Peter's Basilica1 work

The tomb of Clement XIII
1783 to 1792
The kneeling pope above two sleeping lions, in the right transept. It made his reputation.

Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea1 work

Hercules and Lichas
1795 to 1815
A colossal group of the maddened Hercules hurling a boy into the sea, in the national gallery of modern art.

The life of Antonio Canova

Canova was born at Possagno, in the hills north of Venice, in 1757, into a family of stonecutters. He settled in Rome in 1781 and made his name with the tombs of two popes.

His marbles are smooth, cool and exact, modelled on the antique statues he saw around him. When Napoleon's armies carried those statues off to Paris, the pope bought Canova's Perseus to fill an empty pedestal in the Vatican, and in 1815 sent Canova himself to bring them back. He died in Venice in 1822.

What to know

Carved Pauline Bonaparte as Venus
Brought the Vatican's antiquities back from Paris in 1815
The leading sculptor of Neoclassicism

Born: 1 November 1757, Possagno, Italy
Died: 13 October 1822, Venice, Italy

Antonio Canova: common questions

Where can you see Antonio Canova in Rome?: At the Galleria Borghese: Pauline Bonaparte as Venus Victrix. At the Vatican Museums: Perseus with the Head of Medusa. At St Peter's Basilica: The tomb of Clement XIII. At the Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea: Hercules and Lichas. Museums move and lend their works, so check before a special journey.
What is Antonio Canova's most famous work in Rome?: Pauline Bonaparte as Venus Victrix, of 1805 to 1808, at the Galleria Borghese. Napoleon's sister, who had married a Borghese prince, reclining with the apple of Venus in her hand. Her husband kept the statue locked away. It once turned on a mechanism in its base.
When and where was Antonio Canova born?: On 1 November 1757, at Possagno, Italy. Antonio Canova died on 13 October 1822, at Venice, Italy, aged about 65.
What is Antonio Canova known for?: Carved Pauline Bonaparte as Venus. Brought the Vatican's antiquities back from Paris in 1815. The leading sculptor of Neoclassicism. Antonio Canova was an Italian sculptor, of Neoclassicism.