Editing Antonio Canova (section)

===France and England===
By 1800, Canova was the most celebrated artist in Europe.<ref name="DoA-5" /> He systematically promoted his reputation by publishing engravings of his works and having marble versions of plaster casts made in his workshop.<ref name="Batschmann">Oskar Batschmann, The Artist in the Modern World: A Conflict Between Market and Self-Expression. DuMont Bunchverlag, 1997. Print.</ref> He became so successful that he had acquired patrons from across Europe including [[French Consulate|France]], [[Kingdom of Great Britain|England]], [[Russian Empire|Russia]], [[Habsburg monarchy|Austria]] and [[Batavian Republic|Holland]], as well as several members from different royal lineages, and prominent individuals.<ref name="GoV" /> Among his patrons were [[Napoleon]] and his family, for whom Canova produced much work, including several depictions between 1803 and 1809.<ref name="DoA-22" /> The most notable representations were that of ''[[Napoleon as Mars the Peacemaker]]'', and ''[[Venus Victrix (Canova)|Venus Victrix]]'' which was portrayal of [[Pauline Bonaparte]].

''Napoleon as Mars the Peacemaker'' had its inception after Canova was hired to make a bust of Napoleon in 1802. The statue was begun in 1803, with Napoleon requesting to be shown in a French General's uniform, Canova rejected this, insisting on an allusion to [[Mars (mythology)|Mars]], the [[Roman mythology|Roman god]] of [[War]].<ref name="wga.hu3">{{cite web|url=http://www.wga.hu/html_m/c/canova/2/1mars.html|title=Napoleon as Mars the Peacemaker by CANOVA, Antonio|website=wga.hu}}</ref> It was completed in 1806.<ref name="wga.hu4">{{cite web|url=http://www.wga.hu/html_m/c/canova/2/2mars.html|title=Napoleon as Mars the Peacemaker by CANOVA, Antonio|website=wga.hu}}</ref> In 1811, the statue arrived in Paris, but not installed; neither was its bronze copy in the Foro Napoleonico in Milan.<ref name="wga.hu3"/> In 1815, the original went to [[Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington|the Duke of Wellington]], after his victory at [[Battle of Waterloo|Waterloo]] against Napoleon.<ref name="wga.hu4"/>

{{Blockquote|If one could make statues by caressing marble, I would say that this statue was formed by wearing out the marble that surrounded it with caresses and kiss|[[Joséphine de Beauharnais]] on the ''[[Venus Victrix (Canova)|Venus Victrix]]''<ref name="DoA-5"/>}}

[[File:John Jackson - Antonio Canova - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|''[[Portrait of Antonio Canova]]'' by [[John Jackson (painter)|John Jackson]], 1820]]
''[[Venus Victrix (Canova)|Venus Victrix]]'' was originally conceived as a robed and recumbent sculpture of [[Pauline Bonaparte|Pauline Borghese]] in the guise of [[Diana (mythology)|Diana]]. Instead, Pauline ordered Canova to make the statue a nude Venus.<ref name="wga.hu5">{{cite web|url=http://www.wga.hu/html_m/c/canova/2/3paolina.html|title=Paolina Borghese as Venus Victrix by CANOVA, Antonio|website=wga.hu}}</ref> The work was not intended for public viewing.<ref name="wga.hu5"/>

Other works for the Napoleon family include, a bust of Napoleon, a statue of Napoleon's mother, and [[Marie Louise, Duchess of Parma|Marie Louise]] as [[Concordia (mythology)|Concordia]].<ref name="CA"/>

In 1802, Canova was assigned the post of 'Inspector-General of Antiquities and Fine Art of the Papal State', a position formerly held by [[Raphael]].<ref name="GoV"/> One of his activities in this capacity was to pioneer the restoration of the [[Appian Way]] by restoring the tomb of Servilius Quartus.<ref>Paris, Rita, "Appia, una questione non risolta" in "La via Appia, il bianco e il nero di un patrimonio italiano." Electa. 2011</ref> In 1808 Canova became an associated member of the [[Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences|Royal Institute of Sciences, Literature and Fine Arts]] of the [[Kingdom of Holland]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dwc.knaw.nl/biografie/pmknaw/?pagetype=authorDetail&aId=PE00004542 |title=A. Canova (1757–1822) |publisher=Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences |access-date=5 October 2016}}</ref>

In 1814, he began his ''[[The Three Graces (Canova)|The Three Graces]]''.<ref name="CA"/>

In 1815, he was named 'Minister Plenipotentiary of the Pope,'<ref name="GoV"/> and was tasked by Pope Pius VI with recovering various works of art that were taken to Paris by [[Napoleon]] under the terms of the [[Treaty of Paris (1815)]].<ref name="EB1911"/> At the Louvre, he faced resistance to restitution from Director [[Vivant Denon]] and, due to the works' large size or unclear location, was forced to leave behind major pieces, such as [[Paolo Veronese]]'s painting ''[[The Wedding at Cana (Veronese)|The Wedding at Cana.]]''<ref>{{cite book |last1=Contarini |first1=Giovanni |title=Il Canova a Parigi nel 1815 |date=1891 |location=Feltre |page=32}}</ref> 

{{Blockquote|The works of Phidias are truly flesh and blood, like beautiful nature itself|Antonio Canova<ref name="GoV"/>}}

Also in 1815, he visited [[London]], and met with [[Benjamin Haydon]]. It was after the advice of Canova that the [[Elgin Marbles]] were acquired by the British Museum, with plaster copies sent to [[Florence]], according to Canova's request.<ref name="EB1911"/>