Monument to Antonio Canova in the church of Frari

Author: Canova's workshop (Antonio Bosa, Giuseppe Fabris, Rinaldo Rinaldi, Bartolomeo Ferrari, Luigi Zandomenenghi, Jacopo De Martini)
Century: XIX
Church: Basilica of Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari
Position: second altar on the left nave
Method: sculpture
Material: marble

Antonio Canova died October 13, 1822, his body was buried in Possagno (his hometown, in the province of Treviso) while his heart was placed in an porphyry urn preserved at the Academy of Venice.

By the will of Count Leopold Cicognara and pressure from the Frari Church, the memorial to Canova was erected from a model that the sculptor also designed for Tiziano; the sculptor's heart was moved here in 1827.

The great master's disciples participated in the realization of the mausoleum by splitting up the different sculptures that adorn the work: Giuseppe Fabris sculpted the Winged Genius on the left and the extinguished torch represents the artist's death; Rinaldo Rinaldi realised The Winged Lion which symbolizes Venice's desperation and the Genius who steps up the sculpture with a lit torch; Bartolomeo Ferrari realised the Weeping Sculpture; Luigi Zandomeneghi prepared allegories of Painting and Architecture carrying a garland; Jacopo De Martini made the last Two Geniuses on the far right whose lit torch represents the immortal arts; and lastly, Antonio Bosa realized the bas-relief with Two Angels that hold the sculptor's effigy, surrounded by a snake, the symbol of immortality.