THE EXHIBITION CANOVA, NOVELLA FIDIA CELEBRATING THE GREAT MASTER
To mark the second centenary of the death of Antonio Canova (1757 – 1822), an exhibition celebrates the legacy of one of the greatest masters of sculpture of all time.
The title of the event is Canova, novello Fidia and compares the artistic poetics of Antonio Canova with that of Phidias of Athens, his ‘alter ego’ from antiquity.
The exhibition Canova, Novello Fidia
The exhibition, which takes place at Villa Carlotta in Tremezzo (Como), invites the public on a journey to rediscover the works of Canova but also the masterpieces of Phidias, comparing two authors who are distant in time but similar in many respects.
The exhibition Canova, a new Phidias boasts several important loans, such as the torso of the wounded Amazon from the collections of the Royal Museums of Turin, the only version in the world made of basanite (a material quarried in the Wadi Hamammat region of Egypt, which is very difficult to work and therefore precious), which is compared with the original plaster of Antonio Canova’s Musa Tersicore from the Villa Carlotta collections.
One can also discover the famous statue by Phidias, made of gold and ivory, which represented Zeus enthroned and which stood in his temple at Olympia, considered the fourth wonder of the world. On display is one of only two ancient coins surviving to this day, dating from the last years of Hadrian’s reign, depicting Zeus in such a position.
To seal the encounter and dialogue between Phidias and Canova, it was decided to compare the Head of Apollo from the Archaeological Museum in Naples with Canova’s Palamedes, a symbolic work at Villa Carlotta.
Casts of Parthenon sculptures from the Brera Academy of Fine Arts, with which Canova had forged a close relationship, complete the exhibition.
It was in fact thanks to Canova that the marbles, transported by Lord Elgin from Athens to London, finally had a paternity and a first-class place in the history of ancient, modern and contemporary art.
During a visit to London in November 1815, Canova had admired the works of the Greek artist at close quarters, stating that ‘the works of Phidias are true flesh, that is, beautiful nature’.
INFORMATION ABOUT THE EXHIBITION CANOVA, NOVELLO FIDIA
Visits to the exhibition from 24 September to 6 November 2022 are included in the entrance ticket to Villa Carlotta, which is open from Monday to Sunday, from 10.00 am to 7.00 pm (the ticket office closes at 6.00 pm and the museum at 6.30 pm). To avoid queues at the entrance, it is possible to take advantage of the “fast track” by purchasing the ticket online.
Canova, novello Fidia
Curated by Gianfranco Adornato
with Maria Angela Previtera and Elena Lissoni
24 September – 11 December 2022
Villa Carlotta
Via Regina, 2 – 22016 Tremezzina
Loc. Tremezzo, Como