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Venus with the mirror
Venus with Faun
Venus and Adonis
The Graces
Self portrait
Cupid Lubomirski
Creugante
Theseus winner of the Centaur
Love and Psyche
Theseus on the Minotaur
Dancer with hands on hips
Dancer with her finger to her chin
The surprise
The Graces and Venus dance in front of Mars
Paolina Borghese Bonaparte as the winning Venus
Portrait of Antonio Canova
Cephalus and Procris
Venus and Mars
Venus with the mirror
Venus with Faun
Venus and Adonis
The Graces
Self portrait
Cupid Lubomirski
Creugante
Theseus winner of the Centaur
Love and Psyche
Theseus on the Minotaur
Dancer with hands on hips
Dancer with her finger to her chin
The surprise
The Graces and Venus dance in front of Mars
Paolina Borghese Bonaparte as the winning Venus
Portrait of Antonio Canova
Cephalus and Procris
Venus and Mars

The surprise

Antonio Canova

Displayed in:

Canova Museum

Canova Museum

Via A. Canova, 74, Possagno

Closed today: open tomorrow at 09:30

Verified profile

The painting, made by Canova during his stay in Possagno in 1798-1799, represents a young girl, just out of bed, who covers herself, in a modest attitude, with her clothes. The woman seems to be taken by surprise by the presence of the painter (or observer) who sees her. As already happened in the composition of the Citareda, Canova proposes a representation in which the body of the protagonist is seen in profile and the face in front. The painting must have met with great success if Canova replicated it twice more (two, this and another, are in the same Possagno Museum). The essentiality and simplicity of the figurative solution should be noted, with the female nude isolated in the center of the room, in the foreground. The female figure who blushes with modesty and seeks shelter with clothes from the prying eyes of others is a theme that Canova finds in many ancient works and which he will then take up again for the Italic Venus and then for the Venus coming out of the bathroom.
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Details

Title: The surprise

Author: Antonio Canova

Date:

Technique: Oil painting on canvas

Displayed in: Canova Museum

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