This catalogue of an exhibition on at Milan’s GAM from 25 October 2019 to 15 March 2020 revisits the genesis and evolution of the female-head type created by Canova at the peak of his career. On show are 30 works, more than 20 of which by Canova, from prestigious museums worldwide. The heads, which Canova called “ideal heads”, were an immediate success among his contemporaries, clients and critics all. For the first time, the essays in the catalogue reconstruct the story of this current, starting from the classical models and the meaning attributed to them by Canova himself and on to the alternating fortunes of his sculptures in the 20th century. This is followed by profiles of the works, grouped by theme or prototype, delineating the genesis of both the subjects and single sculptures, and placing them, via analysis of period documents, in their historical context and that of Canova’s life events. It ends with details of the exhibition design centred on an in-depth study of the materials, spatial proportions and the visual relationship between the heads and onlookers, something which Canova focused on in particular.

Grafica © Tassinari/Vetta.