Sculpture "Amor and Psyche" (1793) by Antonio Canova, reduction in art marble

About Antonio Canova (1757-1822): Antonio Canova, born in Possagno in Possagno near Bassano, was considered the largest sculptor genius since Michelangelo. He worked in his own sculpture workshop for the Italian aristocracy at the tender age of 15. The success remained true to him for his life until he died in Venice in 1822. Canova became the leading main representative of Italian classicism admired throughout Europe. The Getty Museum in Malibu, California, offered around 10 million euros for Canova's "three graces". But it was thanks to the stubborn intervention of the British government and ultimately the generosity of the art collectors and patrons J. Paul Getty and Baron Hans von Thyssen-Bornemisza that this unique gem of European sculpture was preserved to the kingdom.