CANOVA: SKETCHING IN CLAY. THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO. LA SAMARITAINE ET LA CULTURE

 Nov 19, 2023–Mar 18, 2024

This first exhibition to focus on Italian sculptor Antonio Canova’s lesser-known but unforgettable work in clay reveals how the artist developed his ideas—from the first brilliant spark of imagination to his laboriously finished statues.

Renowned for marble statues that convey a sense of ideal beauty with remarkable lifelikeness, Antonio Canova (1757–1822) was the most celebrated European artist of his time. 

This exhibition focuses on a less-familiar aspect of his production: his clay sketches.

Often produced at a lightning pace to capture his ideas, these works are in many ways the antithesis of his exquisitely finished marble sculptures. Visceral, expressive, and impressionistic, their surfaces visibly bear the pressing and pinching of the artist’s fingers, along with the gouges and scrapes of his tools.

Never pucly exhibited or commercially marketed during his lifetime, these intimate sculptures are more than mere records of the artist’s skill as he raced to capture his thoughts in three-dimensional form, more than just a step in the process of making a work of art; they are extraordinary works of art in themselves.

More than half of the approximately 60 surviving terracotta sketches and models by Canova held in both private and public collections across Europe and the United States come together for this exhibition, many of which have been rarely seen in public. These works, complemented by related plaster casts and finished marbles, invite us into the artist’s creative, technical, and workshop processes, prompting a deeper understanding of Canova’s career and methods, from his beginnings in Venice in the late 1770s to his death in Rome in 1822.

Canova: Sketching in Clay is organized by the National Gallery of Art, Washington, and the Art Institute of Chicago and curated by Emerson Bowyer, Searle Curator, Painting and Sculpture of Europe, Art Institute of Chicago, and C. D. Dickerson III, senior curator of European and American art, National Gallery of Art.

https://www.artic.edu/exhibitions/9287/canova-sketching-in-clay

ÉVÈNEMENTS MARQUES SERVICES RESTAURANTS LA SAMARITAINE VOUS PRÉSENTE PARIS-VENISE Pour la première fois, la Samaritaine s’associe au Fondaco Dei Tedeschi pour créer une rencontre entre ces villes aux accents romantiques et culturelles. Un duo Franco-Italien s’est donné rendez-vous à la Samaritaine ! Mettez-vous dans la peau d’un enquêteur et découvrez une série d’indices grâce à nos animations immersives. Tentez votre chance pour gagner un voyage pour deux à Venise et une nuit au prestigieux Nolinski ! DÉCOUVREZ LE FILM AU COEUR DE L'ENQUÊTE Participez à nos animations interactives pour dénicher les trois indices dissimulés qui vous permettront de gagner un voyage à Venise. Remplissez votre carte enquête et postez là dans la boîte postale pour tenter de remporter ce voyage inoubliable. Buona fortuna ! EXPLOREZ LES ARTISTES DE LA SAISON THE ANONYMOUS PROJECT Retrouvez à la Samaritaine, les clichés d’instants de vie collectionnés par l’artiste anglais Lee Shulman. Rez-de-chaussée, Bâtiment Pont-Neuf IRENE CATTANEO Fascinée par la lumière et la matière, découvrez l’artiste Irene Cattaneo au travers d’une interview exclusive. Rez-de-chaussée, Passerelle Rivoli