Napoleon as Mars the Peacemaker (Milan)

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Napoleon as Mars the Peacemaker (1811) by Antonio Canova, version in bronze IMG 3972 - Canova - Napoleone Bonaparte - Milano, Cortile del Palazzo di Brera - Foto Giovanni Dall'Orto 19-jan 2007.jpg
Napoleon as Mars the Peacemaker (1811) by Antonio Canova, version in bronze

Napoleon as Mars the Peacemaker is a bronze cast of the marble sculpture of the same name by Antonio Canova. It was commissioned from Canova in spring 1807 by Charles-Jean-Marie Alquier, French ambassador to Rome, commissioned it from Canova for 5,000 Louis as a gift to Eugene de Beauharnais, viceroy of the Kingdom of Italy. It was cast in 1811 and De Beauharnais sent it to Milan in May 1812, but the city found it difficult to find a site for it. It was finally moved to its present site in the main courtyard of the Palazzo di Brera (now the Pinacoteca di Brera and inaugurated there on 14 August 1859 during Napoleon III's visit. [1] [2]

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References

  1. Giulio Carcano, Per l'inaugurazione della statua colossale di Napoleone I., opera di Canova, in Milano, il giorno XIV Agosto MDCCCLII, Milan, Luigi di Giacomo Pirola, 1859 (Italian)
  2. Stefano Biolchini, "Napoleone riconquista la posizione d’onore a Brera", in ilSole24ore, 1 October 2014 (Italian)