From Leonardo making marzipan sculptures and his “Madonna of the Yarnwinder,” to whether Jesus died of cardiogenic shock or asphyxiation, to the recently discovered “Judith and Holofernes” and “Ecce Homo” attributed to Caravaggio, to how to transfer panel paintings to canvas, to how to recognize a Michelangelo, to whether being familiar with historical context increases your appreciation of a work of art, this episode answers the very questions that you ask me about the great art, artists and history of the Italian Renaissance.
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Episode 337 - Canova’s “Three Graces”
Antonio’s Canova’s statue of the “Three Graces” is considered a benchmark of beauty. It’s elegantly erotic representation of the Three Graces huddled in an intimate composition is a fitting final representation of the subject born in the ancient Greco-Roman world and later revived in the Renaissance.
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Episode 336 - Canova’s “Paolina Bonaparte as Venus Victrix”
Napoleon’s younger sister, Paolina Bonaparte, married Prince Camillo Borghese in 1803. One year later the prince commissioned Antonio Canova to carve his new wife as the mythological goddess of chastity, Diana. The licentious Paolina laughed off the suggestion claiming that no one would be believe her a virgin and chose to be represented scandalously as the semi-nude Venus instead.
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Episode 335 - Canova’s “Perseus Triumphant”
Carved in only a few months between 1800-1801, Canova’s “Perseus Triumphant” is one of history’s great sculptures. It exists in several versions, the most important of which are in the Vatican and Metropolitan Museums. Clearly inspired by Cellini’s earlier version, Canova also depicts the Greek hero as he contemplates his victory over the Gorgon as he stares at her severed head.
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Episode 334 - Canova’s “Napoleon as Mars the Peacemaker”
In 1802, Napoleon courted Antonio Canova to go to Paris to make a bust of him. Four years later, Canova instead completed an 11ft. (3.5m) free-standing idealized nude statue depicting Napoleon as the Roman god of war, Mars. Surprisingly, Napoleon was not pleased with the sculpture, describing it as “too athletic.”
This podcast will explore the development of the art, architecture, culture and history in Italy, from ancient Roman times through the Renaissance. Listeners will develop an understanding of Italy’s role in the development of Western civilization and an ability to appreciate and understand works of art in their historical context.
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