Canova Elgin Marbles

The elgin marbles also known as the parthenon marbles are a collection of classical greek marble sculptures made by greek sculptor painter and architect phidias in 400 bc.

Canova elgin marbles.

1 november 1757 13 october 1822 was an italian neoclassical sculptor famous for his marble sculptures often regarded as the greatest of the neoclassical artists his sculpture was inspired by the baroque and the classical revival and has been characterised as having avoided the melodramatics of the former and the cold. He was created a. In antonio canova marchese d ischia. The costs of shipping the marbles were paid out of lord elgin s own pocket.

The british museum acquired the elgin marbles after his advice and plaster copies were sent to florence city according to antonio s request. Elgin wrote that canova declined to work on the marbles for fear of damaging them further. Visconti ennio quirino 1751 1818. He calculated he had spent a total of 74 000 in expenses and bribes more than a million dollars in today s money.

Canova was considered by some to be the world s best sculptural restorer of the time. Antonio canova italian pronunciation. He was given a. Among his works are the tombs of popes clement xiv 1783 87 and clement xiii 1787 92 and statues of napoleon and of his sister princess borghese reclining as venus victrix.

Antonio canova marchese d ischia italian sculptor one of the greatest exponents of neoclassicism. 9 to facilitate transport by elgin the columns capitals and many metopes and frieze slabs were either hacked off the main structure or sawn and sliced into smaller. Canova was born in 1757 in possagno a city in the republic of venetia. He sculpted his well known three graces from 1812 to 1816.

Letter from the chevalier antonio canova on the sculptures in the british museum and two memoirs read to the royal institute of france by canova antonio 1757 1822. They were originally part of the parthenon and other buildings erected on the acropolis of athens.