Antonio Canova’s Monumental Horse Sculpture Back on View After 50 Years in Storage

A monumental horse sculpture by Antonio Canova, one of the most well-known Italian Neoclassical sculptors, has undergone an extensive restoration project and is back on view, after spending half a century in storage at the Museo Civico di Bassano.

According to Finestre sull’Arte, an Italian news site, the museum in Bassano del Grappa acquired the sculpture in 1849, courtesy of Canova’s brother, who arranged for many of his plaster casts, sketches, and other documents to be sent to the Veneto museum. It was on view there for over a century, before being moved to storage in the late 1960s, where it has remained, “in an increasingly precarious condition.”

Canova created the plaster model Cavallo Colossale in 1819–21 and painted it green to simulate the look of weathered bronze. It was meant to be part of an equestrian monument to Ferdinand I of Bourbon, the king of Naples. Canova died in 1922, just after completing the model. (The monument was finished by Antonio Cali in 1829 and was installed in Piazza del Plebiscito in Naples.)

The years-long restoration project involved funding from a number of arts organizations and government agencies. The project’s main sponsors were the Italian bank Intesa Sanpaolo and the Venice in Peril fund, a British nonprofit that works to preserve the Veneto region’s cultural history.

Barbara Guidi, director of the Museo Civico, told Finestra sull’Arte that the Canova restoration project is “among the most spectacular and relevant Italian heritage restoration interventions of recent years.”

The restoration was carried out by the Vigonza-based company Passarella Restauri. Their first step was removing materials like brick shards, metal, and pottery that had likely been added in the 19th century, after the sculpture arrived in Bassano del Grappa from Canova’s studio in Rome. Then, they began reassembling the over 200 fragments that made up the original painted plaster model. Passarella Restauri and  R.S. Ingegneria (an engineering firm in Padua) also constructed a new internal metal frame to help support the weight of the sculpture, and protect it in the event of an earthquake.

Cavallo Colossale is included in the exhibition “Eternity and Vision: Rome and Milan, Capitals of Neoclassicism” at the Galleria d’Italia in Milan (through April 6). After the show closes, it will be back on long-term view at the Museo Civico in Bassano.