(Finance) – Ifis Bank Arte in Nuvola returns to Rome with 12 busts of Antonio Canova, within a dedicated space that will be set up on the occasion of the fair scheduled for 22 to 24 November 2024. It is the first time that these works have arrived in the capital since their discovery in Villa Canal alla Gherla, in the province of Treviso.
The busts, approximately 50-60 cm high and dated between 1807 and 1818, will be exhibited in a space which allows, also thanks to the lighting directed exclusively towards the sculptures, an immersive experience and direct contact with the works, which will envelop the visitor in an engaging installation.
In detail, it is about ten plaster casts obtained as casts from the artist’s marbles and two plaster casts showing the referencesthat is, the bronze nails that the sculptor used for processing and which precede the creation of the marbles. After running drawing and sketchin fact, for his own sculptural production Antonio Canova created a life size clay modelfrom which the negative was obtained to obtain the plaster copy. Casts were a common reproduction practice within the Master’s studio who controlled their quality and limited edition, in order to preserve the principle of authorship.
As for the subjects portrayed, it is possible to recognize i four members belonging to the family of Napoleon Bonapartenamely Paolina Borghese, Carolina Murat, Elisa Baciocchi Bonaparte and Letizia Ramolino Bonaparte; some of the most significant subjects of Canova’s productionsuch as the Italian Venus, Clio/Calliope, the Muse Erato or The Beautiful Beloved and Terpsichore; finally, the busts of La Pace, Hebe and the two original models of Beatrice and Paris, in which the repères are visible.
The chalk core was exhibited for the first time from December 8, 2023 until September 29, 2024 in the exhibition “Antonio Canova and Neoclassicism in Lucca” curated by Vittorio Sgarbi. With this new opportunity, Banca Ifis intends to continue its business attention to collective heritageas demonstrated by the Ifis art project, desired and conceived by President Ernesto Fürstenberg Fassiowhich involves the valorization of art, culture, contemporary creativity and their values.
The promotion and enhancement of Italian culture and its social impact represents one of the main areas of action of Kaleidos, the social impact lab of Banca Ifis born from the vision of the President Ernesto Fürstenberg Fassio. In this context, to celebrate 40 years since its foundation, in 2023 the Bank created the International Sculpture Parka project which today, within the 22 hectares of garden of Villa Fürstenberg in Mestre, hosts 24 plastic works by 14 masters of contemporary sculpture, Italian and international: Fernando Botero, Annie Morris, Park Eun Sun, Igor Mitoraj, Manolo Valdés , Pablo Atchugarry, Pietro Consagra, Roberto Barni, Julio Larraz, Philip Colbert, Giuseppe Penone, Jaume Plensa, Nico Vascellari and Davide Rivalta.
Ifis art was born in April 2024, the brand that brings together initiatives aimed at enhancing the artistic and cultural heritage. Among the most significant projects of Ifis art is the recovery and restoration of “Migrant Child”, the work created by the artist Banksy in Venice, one of only two works officially recognized by Banksy on national soil.
Banca Ifis’s promotion of art concerns Italian talents with the sponsorship of the Italian Pavilion at the Architecture Biennale and the Venice Art Biennaleincluding emerging ones, as in the case of the donation of the work Untitled 2021 by Cristiano Pintaldi, to the Liceo Artistico Statale of Treviso.
In chronological order, the last strategic operation developed by Banca Ifis to support cultural and social impact activities in the relevant area the entrance into The Street, the company that manages the cultural hub of the Treviso Arts District (TAD). In particular, the Bank has acquired a share equal to 25% of the share capital of the company which, to date, controls the majority of 21Gallery, Il Cantiere, Ristorante Vite and the design brand Ondesign.