After Antonio Canova (1757-1822) French, Bronze Venus Statue. Title: "The Hope Venus." On a marble base. 

Size: 3 x 3 x 8 in. 

Antonio Canova (1757-1822) was an Italian Neoclassical sculptor celebrated as one of the greatest artists of his era, born in Possagno, Italy and trained from a young age by his sculptor grandfather after his father died when he was three. He later studied at the Accademia di Belle Arti in Venice and established a renowned studio in Rome in 1780, creating marble sculptures inspired by classical antiquity. Highly sought after by European royalty as well as Napoleon Bonaparte, he worked in bronze later in life and was appointed Inspector General of Antiquities and Fine Arts of the Papal States in 1802, as well as President of the Accademia di San Luca in Rome. His final years were spent not on art but on preservation, seeking to recover Italian works that had been looted during the Napoleonic Wars and return them to Italian museums and collections, and his work in both fields defined key historical analysis of the Neoclassical period.

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