Portrait of Antonio Canova
1787
- Medium
- Pastel over traces of graphite
- Dimensions
- 24.9 × 20.6 cm
- Status
- In Museum Collection
- Collect24 Art ID
- C24-212146
This pastel portrait bears witness to the close friendship and artistic sympathy between Irish painter Hugh Douglas Hamilton and Italian sculptor Antonio Canova in Rome. Hamilton delicately worked up Canova’s distinctive straight nose, high forehead, open mouth, and deep-set eyes while drawing his shoulders and necktie with great rapidity and liveliness. The profile view of Canova, together with the outlines of an oval and inscription CANOVA in the lower right, evoke an antique medallion. The smooth lines and harmonious compositional format convey the influence of Canova’s Neoclassical gravitas on the Irish pastelist. In a letter written to Canova after his return to Ireland, Hamilton conveys the deep affinity between the two artists: “I wish I was in Rome where I could see your works instead of only hearing about them, for the sole reason of renewing my spirit.” In return, Canova praised the pastels by Hamilton as exhibiting “perfect likeness.”
Provenance
The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles
Registry history
- 1787 — Recorded in the collection of J. Paul Getty Museum — drawings
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