CANOVA, Antonio
(b. 1757, Possagno, d. 1822, Venezia)

Self-Portrait

1790
Oil on canvas, 68 x 55 cm
Galleria degli Uffizi, Florence

Seemingly surprised at his easel, the artist was in fact best known as a sculptor. In the eyes of many, his austere, contained interpretations of the classical style eclipsed the traditional popularity of more sensuous Hellenistic works, such as the Medici Venus.