My friend Christophe Austruy says it well, that the figure of the lion of St. Mark in Venice reflects a powerful and warlike character.
Venice’s political and military power (…). The traditional image we have of the lion is in profile, holding an open book. A beautiful, strong, muscular lion… . There are, however, many lions at rest or asleep, like the one sculpted by Canova in the Accademia galleries.
Antonio Canova – 1784
I, too, was inspired by this peaceful, but always alert, version in my sketchbook made at EHESS – Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales last year and which I am preparing for an edition.
fron the EHESS sketchbook – 2025
It will be the theme of war and peace, so topical and dramatic, that will engage us for the next year of research. For my part, I will continue to experiment with my research model by drawing the images that we will be analysing together.
*Questo leone dormiente fa parte del progetto di monumento che poi fu realizzato in San Pietro a Roma.
Dettagli
Titolo: Monumento a Papa Clemente XIII – Leone Dormiente
Creatore: Antonio Canova
Data: 1784
Data di creazione: 1784
Materiale: gesso
*Image: Gypsotheca e Museo Antonio Canova