The celebrations for the 800th anniversary of the foundation of Cittadella offer the opportunity to honor our illustrious fellow citizen: Michele Fanoli (Cittadella 1807 - Milan 1876), undoubtedly the best known among the Italian lithographers of the time, in relation to Antonio Canova, a famous neoclassical sculptor whose 200th anniversary will occur in 2022.

The prestigious exhibition, created in collaboration with the Gypsotheca Antonio Canova Museum, will be set up at the Palazzo Pretorio and will allow visitors to retrace the entire career of Michele Fanoli, from his apprenticeship at the Academy of Fine Arts in Venice, in which the influence of Canova was alive, until his transfer to Paris where, thanks to the most advanced techniques of lithographic art, he created the famous plates entitled "Works of Antonio Canova" marketed by the famous gallery owner of the Impressionists Goupil. Within the exhibition a particular focus will be given precisely to the comparison with Antonio Canova, to the Canova-themed lithographs and to the engravings by the sculptor from Possa- gno, exhibited for the first time after restoration by the Municipality of Cittadella.

The public will also be able to admire the latest surprise, which is precisely from these last days, donated by Antonio Canova and which is hidden under the Self-portrait as a sculptor, signed by the artist and dated 1799. Oil on linen canvas showing the artist in the guise of a sculptor, complete with a wad and a chisel in full evidence, revealed the existence of a second painting: from this two faces emerge, imperceptible to the naked eye, but evident through examination radiographic right under the original painting. The work will be exhibited to the public for the first time after its restoration on the occasion of this exhibition.