Antonio Canova’s Sketchbooks
The sketchbooks of Antonio Canova offer vital insight into the observational and working processes of the great neoclassical sculptor, but the fragility of these works on paper and vellum means that access to the originals, which are held in the Musei Civici dei Bassano del Grappa, is heavily restricted.
Facsimile of an album of drawings by Canova © Oak Taylor Smith for Factum Foundation
As part of Factum’s collaborative project with the Musei Civici to digitise their Canova collection, ten albums of drawings and eight notebooks were recorded using high-resolution photography, and facsimiles were made of two albums: Album A, an album of female poses, and Album B1, an album of male proportions. The drawings were photographed using lighting conditions carefully designed to capture the colour and texture of the original documents, and the resulting images will be presented online in a digital viewer, making this extraordinary body of work available to experts and the interested public alike. The facsimiles were printed onto paper with the same textural qualities as the originals, and even the covers are indistinguishable from those which held together Canova’s drawings.
Digitising Antonio Canova's drawings in the collection of the Musei Civici di Bassano del Grappa © Oak Taylor Smith for Factum Foundation
Oak Taylor Smith, Factum's photographer, digitised Antonio Canova's drawings © Factum Foundation
Digitising Antonio Canova's sketchbook © Factum Foundation
Processing the drawings © Factum Foundation
Processing the drawings © Factum Foundation
Processing the drawings © Factum Foundation
Processing the drawings © Factum Foundation
The cover of one of the facsimiles © Oak Taylor Smith for Factum Foundation
Pages from the facsimile editions © Oak Taylor Smith for Factum Foundation
Pages from the facsimile editions © Oak Taylor Smith for Factum Foundation
Pages from the facsimile editions © Oak Taylor Smith for Factum Foundation
Pages from the facsimile editions © Oak Taylor Smith for Factum Foundation
Pages from the facsimile editions © Oak Taylor Smith for Factum Foundation
Pages from the facsimile editions © Oak Taylor Smith for Factum Foundation
Pages from the facsimile editions © Oak Taylor Smith for Factum Foundation
Pages from the facsimile editions © Oak Taylor Smith for Factum Foundation
Pages from the facsimile editions © Oak Taylor Smith for Factum Foundation
Pages from the facsimile editions © Oak Taylor Smith for Factum Foundation
Pages from the facsimile editions © Oak Taylor Smith for Factum Foundation
Pages from the facsimile editions © Oak Taylor Smith for Factum Foundation
Pages from the facsimile editions © Oak Taylor Smith for Factum Foundation
Pages from the facsimile editions © Oak Taylor Smith for Factum Foundation
Pages from the facsimile editions © Oak Taylor Smith for Factum Foundation
Pages from the facsimile editions © Oak Taylor Smith for Factum Foundation
Details from the facsimile editions © Oak Taylor Smith for Factum Foundation
Details from the facsimile editions © Oak Taylor Smith for Factum Foundation
Details from the facsimile editions © Oak Taylor Smith for Factum Foundation
Details from the facsimile editions © Oak Taylor Smith for Factum Foundation
The works were photographed by Oak Taylor Smith with the help of Paola Perozzo y Edoardo Zanollo, two students from IUAV.