Detail van het grafmonument voor Antonio Canova in de Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari te Venetië 1860 - 1870

This is a photograph by Paolo Salviati, capturing a detail of the monument to Antonio Canova in Venice. The monument commemorates Canova, a hugely influential sculptor who died in 1822, and was erected in the Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari. What makes this monument so interesting is its institutional history. It was designed by Canova himself, initially as a tomb for Titian. Canova’s students adapted it to honor their master after his death. Seen in the light of social history, we can understand how 19th-century artists and institutions created a canon of artistic greatness, with Canova, and Titian before him, being elevated to a position of cultural authority. To truly grasp the monument's significance, archival research would reveal the social networks and institutional forces that shaped Canova's legacy and the artistic values of the time.