From Antonio Canova (Possagno, 1 November 1757 – Venice, 13 October 1822), Vigilant Lion and Sleeping Lion

By Antonio Canova (Possagno, 1 November 1757 – Venice, 13 October 1822)

Vigilant Lion and Sleeping Lion

Stucco on marble base, 28 x 40 x 15 cm

The two terracottas take up the iconographic and stylistic dictates of a famous pair of figures by Canova, the Watching Lion and the Sleeping Lion that the artist sculpted for the tomb of Pope Clement XIII, born Carlo Rezzonico, between 1783 and 1792. The tomb of Clement XIII is one of Antonio Canova's most ambitious and sophisticated projects for funerary sculpture: in fact, it was conceived and built on three different levels. The first is occupied by the two wonderful lions, one watching and the other sleeping, which protect the access to the tomb while on the sides are positioned the Genius of Death and Religion; the second level is occupied by the sarcophagus containing the remains of the pontiff while at the top of the composition is a full-length portrait of Clement XIII, depicted as if kneeling on a cushion while praying, who, as a sign of humility, has laid down the tiara on the ground. The two lions placed inside St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican were so successful that the artist wanted to replicate the sleeping lion for the funeral monument of Maria Cristina of Austria. From a stylistic point of view, it appears undeniable that the two felines of the papal tomb and even the second version, were sculpted by Canova in a masterly way. The pose of the paws, the manes, the attitude of the animals and their expressions make these majestic animals seem vibrant and alive.