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

From Antonio Canova (Possagno, November 1, 1757 – Venice, October 13, 1822) Vigilant Lion and Sleeping Lion Stucco on a marble base, cm 28 x 40 x 15 The two terracotta sculptures echo the iconographic and stylistic dictates of a famous pair of Canovian figures, the Vigilant Lion and the Sleeping Lion, which 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 as regards funerary sculpture: this, in fact, is conceived and built on three different levels. The first is occupied by the two wonderful lions, one vigilant and the other sleeping, who protect the access to the tomb while the Genius of Death and of Religion are positioned on the sides; the second level is occupied by the sarcophagus containing the remains of the pontiff while at the top of the composition is placed a full-length portrait of Clement XIII, represented as kneeling on a cushion while praying, who, as a sign of humility, has laid the tiara on the ground. The two lions placed inside the Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican had a great success so much so that the artist wanted to replicate the sleeping lion for the funerary monument of Maria Cristina of Austria. From the stylistic point of view, it seems undeniable that the two felines of the papal tomb and even the second version, were sculpted by Canova in a masterful way. The pose of the paws, the manes, the attitude of the animals and their expressions make these majestic animals seem throbbing and alive.