Canova's George Washington Monument Recreated in Possagno Exhibition

An exhibition at the Gypsotheca e Museo Antonio Canova in Possagno, Italy, explores the lost monument to George Washington by Antonio Canova, commissioned in 1816 and destroyed by fire in 1831. Curated by Mario Guderzo and Xavier F. Salomon, the show previously at the Frick Collection in New York presents Canova's preparatory materials, including drawings, sketches, and the full-scale plaster model. Thomas Jefferson, who never met Canova, selected the sculptor for the commission, wanting Washington depicted as a Roman soldier. The model, inspired by a statue of Claudius Augustus from Herculaneum, survives in Possagno. The exhibition highlights the collaboration between the two museums, with future transatlantic projects planned. The museum's roof, damaged by a French grenade in World War I, has been restored.