George Washington, Front View, from Oeuvre de Canova1817
Antonio Canova’s statue of George Washington, commissioned by the state of North Carolina for its State House in Raleigh, showed the first American president seated in Roman dress, writing on a tablet. More about this work
About this work
Antonio Canova’s statue of George Washington, commissioned by the state of North Carolina for its State House in Raleigh, showed the first American president seated in Roman dress, writing on a tablet. The marble was installed in 1821 and destroyed only ten years later when the State House burned, so prints like this one, from a published survey of Canova’s sculpture, help to preserve a record of his design. Engravings of this kind spread the fame of Europe’s most celebrated sculptor far beyond the few who could see his work in person.
Written by Ochre Editions.
What you’re looking at
A work made of engraving in black on ivory wove paper.
Description from the Art Institute of Chicago.
How it was made
- Engraving
- Lines cut directly into a metal plate with a steel burin, which makes them swell and taper. It took years to master, and for centuries it was how paintings travelled as pictures.
Rights and the museum’s record
Public domain. The Art Institute of Chicago has dedicated this image to the public domain under CC0, so anyone may copy, adapt and use it, for any purpose, without asking. Our prints and files are reproductions made from the museum’s image; the museum doesn’t endorse them.
- Object number
- 2021.51
- Credit
- Courtesy of the Art Institute of Chicago
- Type
- Department
- Prints and Drawings
- Licence
- CC0 1.0 Universal
- Museum record
- See it on the museum’s site
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More by Antonio Canova
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