The Art of Invention: Antonio Canova's Bozzetti

Abstract

The Italian sculptor Antonio Canova (1757-1822) modeled sketches in terracotta and wax, known as bozzetti, that serve as unique and invaluable witnesses to his creative process. In stark contrast to his exquisite marble sculptures, those palpitating sketches reveal Canova’s complex method of invention, which can be understood as both a mental and physical activity. Long dismissed as mere studio props, the bozzetti are, in fact, crucial to understanding Canova’s significance at the intersection of classical ideals and the pursuit of modern inventiveness. Challenging the myth of spontaneous creation, my dissertation argues that Canova’s sculptural sketches are legitimate works of art in their own right. To achieve this, it is crucial to examine the artistic purpose of the bozzetti and reveal the method or rather the methodical research that Canova conducted in clay. This process entails deconstructing the phases of invention into a succession of deliberate choices operated directly in the material. Additionally, my dissertation establishes distinct philosophical frameworks for evaluating their aesthetic value—frameworks that diverge from the Kantian model applied to the marble sculptures, which proves inadequate for the bozzetti. Drawing on the works of Christian Wolff (1679-1754), Alexander Gottlieb Baumgarten (1714-1762), François Hemsterhuis (1721-1790), and Johann Gottfried Herder (1744-1803), I examine their relevance to a revised aesthetics of the bozzetti. Finally, tracing the singular historiography of the bozzetti, distinct from that of the marble sculptures, will reveal how they played a pivotal role in revitalizing the modernity of the neoclassical sculptor in the mid-twentieth century. Instead of being viewed as ancillary products of the finished marble sculptures and spontaneously created forms, the bozzetti deserve to be examined for their distinctive artistic, aesthetic and historiographic significance.