After Antonio Canova

Canova's Beatrice was first recorded in 1817 by Count Leopoldo Cicognara, along with the Laura (Devonshire collection, Chatsworth, Derbyshire). Canova conceived the two busts as embodiments of Italian, as opposed to Grecian, beauty. This intention is reflected in his choice of subjects: the muses of the two greatest Italian language poets, Dante and Petrarch. The busts are amongst the last of Canova’s famed teste ideale, which date to the last decade of his life. Carved in a state of ‘amore caldissimo’ (heated passion), they transcend the limits of natural beauty and present Canova’s vision of universal facial perfection. None of the teste ideale were commissioned, with the majority being given by Canova as gifts to friends and favourite patrons, including the Beatrice, which was given to Count Leopoldo Cicognara and his wife, Lucia Fantinati, in gratitude for their work on the biography of Canova (this bust later passed into the collection of the Princess Giovanelli, Venice in 1922; the plaster is now at Possagno).

Canova was so pleased with his composition that other versions of Beatrice were produced between 1819 and 1822. Cicognara (op. cit.) records a marble Beatrice made for Count István Széchenyi von Sárvár-Felsővidék (1791-1860) in 1819, which by 1936 was in the castle Negycenk. However, the subsequent history of both the Cicognara and Szechvj busts has remained unknown. Quatremère de Quincy (op.cit.) refers to a bust in the collection of Count Rasponi, Ravenna, but Hugh Honour noted (in written communication) that this is an error perpetuated by later writers. Hubert (op. cit.) further mentions a marble in the Museum of Archangelo, formerly the Youssoupov castle.

It is not possible to determine whether the present sculpture is one of the undocumented marble versions recorded above. The quality of the carving is high and there can be little doubt that it would have been carved circa 1820-1830. The execution and surface polish are worthy of Canova's students, including Adamo Tadolini, Rinaldo Rinaldi and Cincinnato Baruzzi.

RELATED LITERATURE

L. Cicongnara, Biographia di Antonio Canova, Venice, 1823, pp.69-70; A. Quatremére de Quincy, Canova et ses Ouvrages ou Memoires Historiques, Paris, 1834, p.317;

V. Malamani, Memoire del Conte Cicongara tratte dai Documenti Generali, Venice, 1888, vol.II, p.193; V. Malamani, Un'amicizia di Antonio Canova (Lettere del Canova al Conte Cicognara), Citta di Castello, 1890, pp.155,158,166,168; G. Hubert, La Sculpture dans l'Italie Napoléanienne, Paris, 1964, p.474, no. 16; E. Bassi, Antonio Canova a Possagno, Treviso, 1972, p.93, no. 235; G. Pavanello and Mario Praz, L'Opera completa del Canova, I Classici dell'Arte, Milan, 1976, nos. 289, 290, 338; F. Licht, Canova, New York, 1983, pp.126-130; G. L. Mellini, Canova. Saggi di Filologia e di ermeneutica, Milan, 1999, pp.139-146; O. Cucciniello and P. Zatti (eds.), Canova. I Volti Ideali, exh. cat. Galleria d'Arte Moderna, Milan, 2019-2020