Antonio Canova in Rome: the 12 busts of Banca Ifis on display at Arte in Nuvola

From November 22-24, 2024, Rome will welcome for the first time the twelve busts by Antonio Canova owned by Banca Ifis, displayed in a space created by Banca Ifis itself on the occasion of the Arte in Nuvola fair. The works, about 50-60 cm tall and made between 1807 and 1818, represent a precious nucleus of plaster casts that had never reached the capital since their discovery in the Villa Canal alla Gherla, in the province of Treviso. The exhibition will feature lighting designed to enhance the beauty of the busts and offer an immersive experience. Thanks to the direct light on the works, visitors will be able to experience close contact with the plaster casts, appreciating the details of the workmanship and technical peculiarities.

Specifically, the twelve busts are ten plaster casts made as casts from Canova’s marbles and two original models, Beatrice and Paride, which retain the repère or bronze pegs used to accurately transfer proportions into the marbles.After making the drawings and sketches, Canova would create life-size models in clay to derive the negative that would be used to make the plaster, after which the plaster would be used as a reference for the proportions of the marble.

The subjects of the twelve busts are diverse: there are four portraits of members of Napoleon Bonaparte’s family (Pauline Borghese, Caroline Murat, Elisa Baciocchi Bonaparte, and Letizia Ramolino Bonaparte), some mythological subjects (Venus Italica, Clio/Calliope, Erato, and Thersichore), the busts of Peace and Hebe, and the two aforementioned models of Beatrice and Paris.

This nucleus of works was recently featured in the exhibition Antonio Canova and Neoclassicism in Lucca, curated by Vittorio Sgarbi and held from December 8, 2023 to September 29, 2024(our review here). With the Rome stop, Banca Ifis intends to renew its commitment to the enhancement of artistic heritage through the Ifis Art project, conceived by President Ernesto Fürstenberg Fassio.

Antonio Canova in Rome: the 12 busts of Banca Ifis on display at Arte in Nuvola

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