Antonio Canova was an Italian sculptor. He was born in 1757 at Possagno, in Venetian territory and died in 1822. He was first an apprentice to a statuary in Bassano, from whom he went to the Academy of Venice, where he had a brilliant career. In 1779 he was sent by the senate of Venice to Rome with a salary of 300 ducats, and there produced his Theseus and the Slain Minotaur. In 1783 Antonio Canova undertook the execution of the tomb of Pope Clement XIV in the Church of the Apostles, a work in the Bernini manner, and inferior to his second public monument the tomb of Pope Clement XIII (1792) in St Peter's.
From 1783 his fame rapidly increased. He established a school for the benefit of young Venetians, and amongst other works produced his group of Venus and Adonis, the Psyche and Butterfly, a Repentant Magdalene, the well-known Hebe, the colossalHerculeshurling Lichas into the Sea, the Pugilists, and the group of Cupid and Psyche. In 1796 and 1797 Antonio Canova finished the model of the celebrated tomb of the Archduchess Christina of Austria, and in 1797 made the colossal model of a statue of the King of Naples executed in marble in 1803. He afterwards executed in Rome his Perseus with the Head of Medusa, which, when the BelvidereApollo was carried to France, was thought not unworthy of its place and pedestal.
In 1802 he was invited by Bonaparte to Paris to make the model of his colossal statue. Among the later works of the artist are a colossalGeorge Washington, the tombs of the Cardinal of York and of Pius VII; a Venus Rising from the Bath; the colossal group of Theseus Killing the Minotaur; the tomb of Alfieri; the Graces Rising from the Bath; a Dancing Girl; a colossalHector; a Paris, etc. After the second fall of Napoleon, in 1815, Antonio Canova was commissioned by the pope to demand the restoration of the works of art carried from Rome. He went from Paris to London, and returned to Rome in 1816, where he was made Marquis of Ischia, with a pension of 3000 scudi. Research Antonio Canova
Edward Daniel Clarke was an English traveller and mineralogist. He was born in 1769 at Sussex and died in 1822. He entered Jesus College, Cambridge, in 1786; and was made a fellow in 1798. In 1799 he set out on an extensive tour through Europe, Asia Minor, Syria, Egypt, etc, securing for English institutions many valuable objects, such as the celebrated manuscript of Plato's works, with nearly 100 others, a colossal statue of the Greek goddess Demeter (Ceres), and the famous sarcophagus of Alexander the Great. In 1807 he commenced a course of lectures on mineralogy at Cambridge, and in 1808 a professorship of mineralogy was instituted there in his favour. A complete edition of his works appeared in 1819-24, under the title of Travels in Various Countries of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Research Edward Clarke
The Farnese were an illustrious Italian family of Italy, whose descent may be traced from about the middle of the 13th century, and which gave to the church and the Republic of Florence many eminent names. The line became extinct with Antonio Farnese in 1731. The name of the Farnese is associated with several famous buildings and works of art. The Farnese Palace, at Rome, was built for Pope Paul III while he was cardinal, by Sangallo and Michael Angelo. Its sculpturegallery was formerly very celebrated, but the best pieces have been removed to Naples, including the following: The Farnese Bull, a celebrated ancient sculpture representing the punishment of Dirce, discovered in the 16th century in the Baths of Caracalla at Home; Farnese Hercules, a celebrated ancient statue of Hercules by Glycon, found in the Baths of Caracalla in 1540; Farnese Flora, a colossal statue of great merit, found in the Baths of Caracalla; Farnese Cup, an antiqueonyxcup, highly ornamented with figures in relief. Research Farnese
George Jacques Danton was one of the leaders of the French revolution. He was born in 1759 and died in 1794. His colossal stature, athletic frame, and powerful voice contributed not a little, together with his intellectual gifts and audacity, to win him a prominent position amongst the revolutionaries. He founded the club of the Cordeliers, was foremost in organizing and conducting the attack on the Tuileries, on August the 10th, 1792, and as a reward for such services was made minister of justice and a member of the provisional executive council. When the advance of the Prussian army spread consternation amongst the members of the government George Danton alone preserved his courage, and in a celebrated speech summoned all Frenchmen capable of bearing arms to march against the enemy.
He voted for the capital punishment of all returning aristocrats, but undertook the defence of religious worship, and along with Robespierre brought Jacques Hebert and the worshippers of the goddess Reason to the scaffold. But the rivalry of the two great leaders had now reached a point when one must succumb, and the crafty Robespierre succeeded in having George Danton denounced and thrown into prison, on the 31st of March, 1794. Five days afterwards he was condemned by the revolutionary tribunal as an accomplice in a conspiracy for the restoration of monarchy, and executed the same day. Research George Danton
Lorenzo Bartolini was an Italian sculptor. He was born in about 1778 at Florence and died in 1850. He studied and worked in Paris, and was patronized by Napoleon. On the fall of the empire he returned to Florence, where he continued to exercise his profession. Among his greater works may be mentioned his groups of Charity, and Hercules and Lycas, a colossalbust of Napoleon, and the beautiful monument in the cathedral of Lausanne, erected in memory of Lady Stratford Canning. Bartolini ranks next to Canova among modern Italian sculptors. Research Lorenzo Bartolini
Pierre Jean David was a French sculptor. He was born in 1789 at Angers in 1789 (hence he is commonly called David d'Angers) and died in 1856. He went to Paris when he was very young, and became the pupil of Jacques Louis David, and in 1809 a prize obtained from the Academy enabled him to pursue his studies at Rome, where he formed a friendship with Canova. On his return to Paris he laid the foundation of his fame by a colossal statue of the great Conde in marble.
He visited Germany twice, in 1828 and 1834, and executed busts of Goethe for Weimar, of Schelling for Munich, of Tieck for Dresden, of Rauch and Humboldt for Berlin. In 1831 he began the magnificent sculptures of the Pantheon, his most important work, which he finished in 1837. He executed a great number of medallions, busts, and statues of celebrated persons of all countries, among whom we may mention Walter Scott, Canning, George Washington, Lafayette, Guttenberg, Cuvier, Victor Hugo, Beranger, Paganini, and Madame de Stael. Research Pierre David
Thomas Banks was an English sculptor. He was born in 1735 and died in 1805. He studied sculpture in the Royal Academy, and in Italy, where he executed several excellent pieces, particularly a bass-relief representing Caractacus brought prisoner to Rome, and a Cupid catching a Butterfly, the latter work being afterwards purchased by the EmpressCatharine. On leaving Italy he spent two unsatisfactory years in Russia, and then returned to England, where he was soon after made an academician. Among his other works was a colossal statue of Achilles Mourning the Loss of Briseis in the hall of the British Institution, and the monument of Sir Eyre Coote in WestminsterAbbey. Research Thomas Banks
The Cold War was the name given to the stand-off between the Soviet Union and her allies (The WarsawPact) and the USA and her allies (NATO) following the end of the Second World War. As the Second World War ended America wanted to continue through Germany and invade the USSR, replacing the Communist government with one more harmonious with American economic interests. This desire for invasion and regime change continued for many years, with the Soviets developing more and more nuclear weapons as a deterrent (aided by hundreds of sympathisers - spies - in Britain, Germany and America who supplied technology secrets to the Soviets, not for money but out of sympathy for the Soviet ideals) until America achieved her aims with the 'peaceful' collapse of the Soviet Union in the 1990s - which subsequently led to civil wars in the former Soviet Republics, the emergence of large gangs or organised criminals and anything but peace in the former Soviet Union. War was probably avoided by the colossal intelligence
gathered by both sides during the standoff, the SovietKGB having spies within the British MI6 and CIA and the British and Americans having spies within the SovietKGB. Research Cold War
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Abbreviations
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