Italian Sculpture n°2

Psyche revived by Cupid's kiss
by  Antonio Canova

This winged young man who has just landed on a rock where a girl lies unconscious, is the god Eros – Cupid in Latin – and can be recognized by his wings and his quiver filled with arrows. The girl’s name is Psyche. Cupid’s mother Venus, goddess of Beauty, demanded that Psyche bring back a flask from the Underworld, strictly forbidding her to open it.

But Psyche’s curiosity got the better of her; and no sooner had she had breathed in the terrible fumes than she fell into a deep, deathlike sleep. Seeing her lying motionless, Cupid rushed to her and touched her gently with the tip of his arrow, to make sure she was not dead. This is the moment caught by the sculptor: Cupid lifts his beloved Psyche in a tender embrace, his face close to hers. Psyche lets herself sink slowly backwards, languorously taking her lover’s head between her hands.

Canova took his inspiration from a legend recounted by Latin author Apuleius in the Metamorphoses At the close of the tale the gods decide in council to grant Cupid Psyche’s hand in marriage, according her immortality and making her the goddess of the Soul.

Antonio CANOVA (1757 – 1822)

Psyche Revived by Cupid’s Kiss

Marble - H. 1.55 m; L. 1.68 m; D. 1.01 m

MR 1777

Paris, Musée du Louvre

FOR MORE INFORMATION 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psyche_Revived_by_Cupid's_Kiss

http://www.arscentre.com/2012/11/antonio-canova-cupid-and-psyche.html

http://musee.louvre.fr/oal/psyche/psyche_acc_en.html  

Italian Sculpture n°1

The Three Graces

by Antonio Canova

Antonio Canova’s statue ‘The Three Graces’ is a Neoclassical sculpture, in marble, of the mythological three charites, daughters of Zeus. The Three Graces illustrates Canova's outstanding ability to transform cold hard marble into soft lustrous skin. According to Greek mythology the three daughters of Zeus and Euryoneme were called Euphrosyne, Aglaia and Thalia. They were traditionally associated with Aphrodite, the goddess of love and  were said to represent beauty, charm and joy. Canova arranged the beautiful sisters in a loose semi-circle so that they complement one another in their poses and gazes, entwined arms and narrow swathes of drapery. The sculpture was commissioned by the 6th Duke of Bedford and installed on a pedestal (which could be rotated) in a specially built Temple at his country house, Woburn Abbey. The Graces presided over banquets and gatherings primarily to entertain and delight the guests of the Gods.

The piece itself is carved exactingly from a single slab of white marble. Canova's assistants roughly blocked out the marble, leaving Canova to finish the final carving and shape the stone to highlight the Graces’ soft flesh. This was a trademark of the artist, and the piece shows a strong allegiance to the Neo-Classical movement of which Canova is the prime exponent in the field of sculpture. The lines are exquisite, refined and elegant.

The three goddesses are shown nude, huddled close together in embrace, their heads almost touching in what many have referred to as an ‘erotically charged’ piece. They stand, leaning slightly inward – perhaps discussing a common issue, or simply enjoying being close to one another. Their hair-styles are all similar, with the hair braided and held on top of their heads in a knot.

The style is elegant and suggests refinement and class – there is a delicate beauty to them that is commonplace in Canova’s sculpture. Art historians have often commented on the peaceful balance that seems to exist between the Three Graces’ heads. Unlike compositions of the Graces, which were derived from antiquity (where the outer figures turn out towards the viewer and the central figure embraces her friends with her back to the viewer) - Canova's figures stand side by side, facing each other.

The three slender female figures become one in their embrace, united by not only their linked hands, but also by the scarf which links all of them together. The unity of the Graces is one of the piece's main themes.

THE ARTIST

Antonio Canova     (Italian, 1757 - 1822)

Canova, who was based in Rome, was one of the most famous artists in eighteenth-century Europe . His sculpture was celebrated for its classical character and convincing lifelike qualities. Canova successfully emulated and, in the view of some contemporaries, even surpassed sculptors of Antiquity and more recent times, such as Michelangelo and Bernini. He was also inspired by painters, especially those from Venice, near his birthplace, Possagno. In 1801 he was knighted by the Pope and in 1814 honoured with the title of Perpetual President of the Academy of St Luke. His work attracted distinguished patrons from all over Europe, including Britain.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O70425/the-three-graces-group-canova-antonio/

http://news.bbc.co.uk/dna/place-lancashire/plain/A853021

Italian Sculpture n°3

Moses 

by Michelangelo Buonarroti

The Statue of Moses is a part of the tomb of Pope Julius II. It was originally intended to be for the upper portion of a massive three storey monument which was to hold more than 40 statues. The project was later scaled down step-by-step until it the plan had become a simple wall tomb with less than one third of the intended number of statues. This was a cause of much personal frustration to him, as an artist who was primarily a sculptor. He considered the Statue of Moses as his most important and most life-like of all his creations.
Moses shows a seated figure, not in any dynamic action, yet somehow managing to exude restless energy and  anger. This is at the point in the story where Moses returns from the Mount Sinai with the two tablets of testimony with the intent to deliver the Ten Commandments to his people but instead breaks them in his terrible anger when he sees them worshipping the Golden Calf. His left leg is pulled back, so the hips are turned towards the left, with the torso turned a little towards the right, the face is again turned towards the left and he pulls his beard to the right side. This creates an interesting and dynamic composition. The figure looks disproportionate, with a long torso, because the statue was meant to be on the upper storey and he had proportioned it to look right when viewed from below.
 

 1513-1515
Marble, height 235 cm
San Pietro in Vincoli, Rome

THE ARTIST

Michelangelo Buonarroti was arguably the most famous artist of the High to Late Italian Renaissance, and inarguably one of the greatest artists of all time -- along with fellow Renaissance men Leonardo DiVinci and Raphael (Raffaello Sanzio). He considered himself a sculptor, primarily, but is equally well known for the paintings he was induced (grudgingly) to create. He was also an architect and an amateur poet.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

 http://youtu.be/mglpxDh9dws

http://www.italian-renaissance-art.com/Michelangelo-sculptures.html

http://www.romeguide.it/monumenti/mose/moseeng.html