Portrait of Antonio Canova, Michele Benedetti, after Johann Baptist Lampi (II), c. 1805
stipple etching and engraving, h 538mm × w 412mm More details
This portrait shows Canova at work on his most famous creation, the funerary monument for Archduchess Maria Christina of Austria (see adjacent). A winged genius – a type of guardian angel – lies on a mourning lion to the right of the tomb’s entrance. The cloak worn by the sculptor and the laurel wreath are honorific vestments, not work clothes. The print was made after a painting owned by the Russian diplomat Razumovski and is dedicated to him.
