Canova’s Modello for Titian

Though Titian died in 1576, it wasn’t until 1790 that a monument for the artist was finally commissioned. The task fell to Antonio Canova, who proposed a pyramidical structure, no doubt inspired by the popularity of the iconic Pyramid of Gaius Cestius in Rome (in a contemporary example, the Pyramid of Gaius Cestius served as the model for Joseph Bonomi’s mausoleum at Blickling Park, Norfolk for John Hobart, 2nd Earl of Buckinghamshire, which he constructed between 1794 and 1796). This modello is one of the surviving examples of his proposed designs for the monument.      

A pyramid with a bas relied portrait of Titian over the central door. Two robed female figures process from the right. The modello is damaged, and only a wing of a figure group remains on the left.

Antonio Canova and Studio. Model for the Monument to Titian. 1795. painted wood and clay. Gallerie dell'Accademia di Venezia. Cat. S. 188.

Unfortunately for Canova, the Republic of Venice fell to Napoleon Bonaparte’s armies in 1797, and the political disruption and lack of funding meant that the plan was abandoned. He did re-use the design however. When Albert Casimir, Duke of Teschen commissioned a memorial for his wife, Maria Christina, Canova constructed a similar monument for the Augustinerkirche in Vienna, which he completed in 1805 (see his modello here). In its execution, he increased the numbers of figures, and reversed the position of the funeral procession and weeping angel from his earlier modello. Artists copied the monument, popularizing it throughout Europe through prints and paintings. (see, for example, Pietro Bonato’s engraving after Domenico del Frate from 1805 and Charles Swagers’s rendition in oils from 1849 at the Princeton Art Museum.)

A pyramid with a bas relied portrait of Maria Christina over the central door. A procession of four female mourners leads an old man with a staff from the left. A mourning angel rests on a winged lion on the right.

Antonio Canova and Workshop. Monument to Maria Christina, Duchess of Teschen. 1805. Augustinerkirche, Vienna, Austria. Photo by Andreas Praefcke. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported license.

In 1838, Ferdinand I, Emperor of Austria, commissioned a new monument for Titian. The Zandomeneghi family designed and executed this version, which features a triumphal arch and multiple sculptures and bas reliefs. The monument is situated in Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari in Venice, where Titian had first installed his first major commission: his altarpiece depicting The Assumption of the Virgin (1516–18). By 1817, the altarpiece had been moved to the Accademia, so the bas relief representing the Assumption of the Virgin referenced a painting no longer in the church.

A triumphal arch backed by a bas relief featuring images painted by Titian, including the Assumption of the Virgin. The arch is accompanied by nine figures referencing classical antiquity.

Pietro and Luigi Zandomeneghi. Monument to Titian. 1827. Marble. Basilica di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, Venice.Photo by Didier Descouens under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.

Titian. Assumption of the Virgin (1516-1518). oil on panel, 690 x 360 cm. Basilica di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, Venice.https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tizian_041.jpg

When Canova died in 1822, several of his students decided to use his model for Titian to construct a monument to their teacher. Completed in 1827, they built his pyramidical memorial and placed it in Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari. While Canova’s body had been buried in Possagno, his heart was placed in a  porphyry urn and deposited inside the monument—directly across the nave from the monument to Titian. 

A pyramid with a bas relied portrait of Canova over the central door. A procession of three female mourners and three boys enter from from the left. A mourning angel rests next to a winged lion on the right.

Monument to Canova. 1827. Marble. Basilica di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari, Venice.Photo by Didier Descouens under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.

Blog Posts, Art, ArchitectureJason KellyCanova, Titian, funerary monuments, Renaissance, classicism, neoclassicism, painting, sculpture