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Lot Essay
Antonio Canova (1757-1822) was one of the finest neoclassical sculptors and was considered by his contemporaries as 'the supreme minister of beauty'. Pope Pius VII nominated Canova 'Inspector for the Belle Arti' in 1802, and three sculptures by Canova helped to fill the void left in the collections of the Vatican following the Treaty of Tolentino in 1797: the pugilists, Creugas and Damoxenos and Perseus which stood in the place of the Apollo Belvedere. Canova had already conceived the pugilists around 1794 initially in the form of drawings now in the collection of the Museo Correr, Venice. By 1796 he had completed life-size modelli of both Creugas and Damoxenos and commenced work on the marbles the following year.
The story of the Pugilists comes from the writings of the 2nd century AD Greek traveller Pausanias. According to his texts Creugas and Damoxenos were worthy opponents in a boxing match at Nemea, with neither able to defeat the other. The judges determined that each contender would be allowed one final blow. Creugas of Durazzo struck Damoxenos of Syracuse on the head. Damoxenos, struck Creugas on the side and tore out his intestines. Damoxenos, however, was disqualified for killing his opponent and Creugas posthumously declared the winner.
A pair of apparently identical plasters (with the exception of the present representation of Damoxenos' lack of a fig leaf) were sold from the collection of Gianni Versace, Sotheby's London, 18 March 2009, lot 137 (433,250 inc.).
PLEASE NOTE THIS LOT IS NOT COVERED BY CADOGAN TATE'S STANDARD CHARGES, AS DETAILED ON PAGE 3, AND IS SUBJECT TO AN INDIVIDUAL TRANSFER FEE. PLEASE CONTACT CADOGAN TATE FOR A QUOTE.
The story of the Pugilists comes from the writings of the 2nd century AD Greek traveller Pausanias. According to his texts Creugas and Damoxenos were worthy opponents in a boxing match at Nemea, with neither able to defeat the other. The judges determined that each contender would be allowed one final blow. Creugas of Durazzo struck Damoxenos of Syracuse on the head. Damoxenos, struck Creugas on the side and tore out his intestines. Damoxenos, however, was disqualified for killing his opponent and Creugas posthumously declared the winner.
A pair of apparently identical plasters (with the exception of the present representation of Damoxenos' lack of a fig leaf) were sold from the collection of Gianni Versace, Sotheby's London, 18 March 2009, lot 137 (433,250 inc.).
PLEASE NOTE THIS LOT IS NOT COVERED BY CADOGAN TATE'S STANDARD CHARGES, AS DETAILED ON PAGE 3, AND IS SUBJECT TO AN INDIVIDUAL TRANSFER FEE. PLEASE CONTACT CADOGAN TATE FOR A QUOTE.