Canova and the Venus Victrix

The exhibition is curated by Fernando Mazzocca and Anna Coliva, and is organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of Canova’s birth and the 200th anniversary of Paolina Borghese Bonaparte as Venus Victrix. The curatorial thesis aims to investigate on one hand the complex relationships between Canova, Prince Camillo Borghese and the Bonaparte family, for whom the artist designed and created the sculpture of Paolina as the deity Venus. Other similar works will have been selected to offer a comparative framework. On the other hand, the exhibition wishes to present a survey of the artist’s career through over fifty works on loan from some of the most important museums in the world. A survey seen through the lens of Canova’s continuous  revisitation of the subject of Venues from the end of 1780s. Large works in marble, drawings, paintings in oil and tempera, models in clay and terracotta offer visitors the opportunity to discover Canova’s process and style.