Poppy Harvey-Jones
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Lot 38
John Jackson(Lastingham 1778-1831 London)Portrait of Antonio Canova, three-quarter length unframed
6 December 2017, 15:30 GMT
London, New Bond Street£10,000 - £15,000
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John Jackson (Lastingham 1778-1831 London)
Portrait of Antonio Canova, three-quarter length seated before a red curtain, a view to the studio beyond
oil on canvas
127.5 x 101.2cm (50 3/16 x 39 13/16in).
unframed
oil on canvas
127.5 x 101.2cm (50 3/16 x 39 13/16in).
unframed
Footnotes
Provenance
Commissioned from the artist by Sir Francis Chantry R.A. from whose estate acquired by John Chapman Walker of Hillfield, Cheddar (according to an old label on the reverse)
With J.C. Naon & Cia, Buenos Aires, by whom sold in August 1938, lot 325
Possibly The Sheldon Swope Art Museum, Indiana
Sale, Sotheby's, London, 19 March 2003, lot 61
Presumably commissioned by Sir Francis Chantry during his trip to Italy with John Jackson in 1819-20, the present work depicts the celebrated Italian sculptor Antonio Canova (1757-1822). Upon completion of his training in Venice, Canova travelled to Rome at the end of 1780. One of his first commissions in that city was for the Venetian ambassador, Girolamo Zulian, for whom he sculpted his Theseus and the Minotaur, now in the Victoria and Albert Museum. Through the latter he came into contact with many of the young artists active in Rome such as Batoni, Mengs, and Gavin Hamilton. By the end of the century Canova had become one of the most celebrated artists in Europe, working for patrons such as Napoleon and his family and the Duke of Bedford, as well as the Austrian Imperial family. After the fall of Napoleon, he was sent to Paris in order to reclaim works of art looted by the French. His trip was so successful that upon his return he was made Marchese d'Ischia.
The sculptures depicted in the background of the present work appear to be from those Canova designed for the tomb of the Archduchess Maria Christina of Austria in the Augustinian Church, Vienna. Another version of this portrait can be found at the Yale Center for British Art (accession no. B1974.3.10).