Canova's Marble Politics

Antonio Canova (1757-1822) sculpted the Neoclassical ideal into marble. His Psyche Revived by Cupid's Kiss (1787-1793) achieves a smoothness and grace that makes stone look like porcelain. Napoleon commissioned Canova to sculpt him as a nude Mars — the god of war — resulting in an 11-foot statue that Napoleon himself found embarrassingly idealized.

David's paintings served the Revolution as effectively as any speech or pamphlet. His Marat transformed a murdered radical into a secular saint, while his Oath of the Horatii made civic duty look more noble than any religious martyrdom.