A PAIR OF PLASTER BUSTS OF NAPOLEON AND CANOVA

WORKSHOP OF ANTONIO CANOVA (1757-1822), EARLY 19TH CENTURY

Details

A PAIR OF PLASTER BUSTS OF NAPOLEON AND CANOVA
WORKSHOP OF ANTONIO CANOVA (1757-1822), EARLY 19TH CENTURY
Each on an integrally cast cylindrical socle; the bust of Canova inscribed on the reverse 'CANOVA SEIPSUM/...N MDCCCXII'.
Chips; scratches.
35½ in. (90.2 cm.) high, overall (2)

Provenance

Traditionally, Count Valentini di Canino of Viterbo.

Literature

COMPARATIVE LITERATURE:
M. Praz, L'Opera Completa del Canova, Milan, 1976, nos. 142 and 241.

Sale room notice

The estimate on this lot should read £10-15,000.

Lot Essay

These impressive busts, a self-portrait of Canova and his patron, the emperor Napoleon, are plaster versions of marbles which are to be found today in the Tempio, at Possagno, and the collection of the Duke of Devonshire, respectively. The traditional attribution, listed above, would suggest a connection with the princes of Canino, who were descended from Charles-Lucien-Jules-Laurent Bonaparte, the eldest son of the emperor's brother, Lucien.

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