Deposition (after Antonio Canova)

As official painter of the Apostolic Apartments, Bernardino Nocchi produced large fresco decorations for the papal residences at the Vatican. However, this painting is a reflection of his association with the great Neoclassical sculptor Antonio Canova—and of Canova’s exacting working process, which involved two-dimensional preparatory works as well as studies in terracotta and plaster. The plaster model was a key element in Canova’s design process, serving as the basis for adjustments before the final execution in marble. In a few instances, as here, Canova also commissioned paintings based on the plaster model, both to show to the patron and to anticipate the effects of light on the three-dimensional work. The plaster model for this tomb design survives in the Gipsoteca Canoviana, Possagno, Italy, but a large marble was never made. A reduced replica made for a Venetian patron by Antonio d’Este, the head of Canova’s workshop, is also in the collection of the Art Institute.