ANTONIO CANOVA

These elegant prints of Canova's famous statues include the Three Graces, or "Le Tre Grazie". Antonio Canova was born in 1757 in Possagno, near Treviso. The son of a stone-cutter, he spent his artistic apprenticeship first in Venice and then in Rome. It was here that he studied ancient sculpture and came into contact with intellecturals and artists such as Bartolomeo Cavaceppi and Francesco Antonio Franzoni who theorised a return to the classical style. Canova's statue, 'Apollo Crowning Himself', came to define the Neoclassical movement. Canova was known as the greatest sculptor of his time, and his reputation grew across all Europe. He died in Venice in 1822.