Photographs by Luigi Spina, Text by Vittorio Sgarbi
The fourth and final volume of the photographic and editorial project Canova. Four Tempos, dedicated to the plaster casts by Antonio Canova at the Gypsotheca in Possagno (Italy), continues the investigation into the imperfect form: works that use pins to translate plaster works into marble, and as such an expression of genius in his making.
Luigi Spina approaches the works in a completely new way, from mythological subjects to the faces of the patrons, from Daedalus and Icarus, a masterpiece of youth, to Adonis crowned by Venus, unfinished and never translated into marble. From the eternal comparison between the sculpture of Hector in a dynamic pose and Ajax about to draw his sword to the sensuality of Venus revealing herself as she emerges from her bath.
Finally, the volume takes a look at the commissioners: the sculpture of the little prince Heryk Lubominski dressed as Cupid with bow and quiver and the sculpture of Princess Leopoldina Esterhàzy Liechtenstein. The classical model, encapsulating harmony and perfection, is foremost in the sculptor’s mind.
Luigi Spina, a photographer, has published several volumes with 5 Continents Editions, including The Buchner Boxes (2014), Hemba (2017), and Mythical Diary (2017), dedicated to the Farnese Collection. With the same publisher, he created the series “Hidden Treasures”: The Farnese Cup, The Alexander Mosaic, San Domenico by Niccolò dell’Arca, The Riace Bronzes (2022), and the large-scale photographic project Inside Pompeii (2023).
Vittorio Sgarbi is an art critic, exhibition organiser and collector in his own right, as well as the author of many books dedicated to great artists and the central role of art. Among his recent publications: Ecce Caravaggio. Da Roberto Longhi a oggi (La Nave di Teseo, 2021). He is also a politician and a well known public intellectual.
Exhibition: Museo Gypsotheca Antonio Canova, Possagno (Treviso), April 20, 2024 – January 7, 2025
