Antonio Canova was born on 1 November 1757 in Possagno, in the hills at the foot of Monte Grappa, into a family of stonemasons. Having lost his father when he was only four years old, he was raised by his grandfather Pasino, a skilled craftsman who passed on to him a love of sculpture, but also a strict discipline. His mother, Angela, remarried and left little Antonio to his grandparents, an event that profoundly marked his sensitivity.

Canova's talent soon emerged: even as a child he modelled clay and stone, attracting the attention of the Venetian nobleman Giovanni Falier, who became his patron. Thanks to Falier's support, Canova was able to study under the sculptor Giuseppe Bernardi, known as "Torretti", in Pagnano d'Asolo, and later in Venice, where he perfected his art and launched a career that would make him famous throughout Europe.

Over time, criticism of Canova went through alternating phases. In the 1970s and 1980s, thanks to international scholars such as Hugh Honour and Robert Rosenblum, Canova was also rediscovered abroad, and exhibitions such as that of 1972 in London marked a new appreciation of his work.
With the Committee for the National Edition of the Works of Antonio Canova, founded in 1983, many of his unpublished letters and documents were published, allowing a more complete view of the artist. While some fear that the spectacularization of his work may obscure its true essence, his legacy continues to inspire new, deeper, and more contemporary reflections.