Emerson Bowyer, Searle Curator in Painting and Sculpture of Europe, and Lisa Ayla Çakmak, Chair and Curator of Arts of the Ancient Mediterranean and Byzantium, explore Antonio Canova’s complex relationship with the art of antiquity.

Canova carved a modern portrait of the ancient past in stone. Inspired by classical antiquities and the birth of archeology, he created works that brought mythic characters of Greece and Rome to life in 18th-century Europe. Even as he sought to rival the beauty of ancient art, he also fought to preserve it, revealing a forward-thinking sensibility at the heart of his indebtedness to the past.