# Theseus and the Minotaur

[View the canonical artwork record](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/canova-antonio-rd914cbbad96d76/theseus-and-the-minotaur-r9e61f6b86e21e9>)

## Artwork

- Artist: [CANOVA, Antonio](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/canova-antonio-rd914cbbad96d76>)
- Date: 1751-1800
- Technique: Marble, 145,4 x 158,7 x 91,4 cm

## Commentary

In autumn 1779, Canova undertook the obligatory study trip to Rome, where he not only became familiar with sculptural works of the past, but also came into close contact with the artists and critics of contemporary avant-garde. A cast of the Daedalus-Icarus group confirmed him as having great sculptural talents, but he was nonetheless advised to work in the future in the style demanded by Winckelmann. He was given an opportunity to do this when he was commissioned by Girolamo Zulian, the Venetian ambassador in Rome, to do a Theseus and the Minotaur group in 1781. Canova created a sculpture whose subject is not Theseus&#39; struggle, but the victor in brooding pose sitting on the defeated enemy. Showing the melancholy, ruminative moment after the deed was more in keeping with the new view of art than the traditional scene of the dramatic struggle with the Cretan monster. &lt;P&gt; &lt;TABLE ALIGN=LEFT CELLPADDING=5 BORDER=1 WIDTH=320 BGCOLOR=&#34;\#99CCCC&#34;&gt; &lt;TR VALIGN=MIDDLE&gt;&lt;TD&gt;&lt;IMG SRC=&#34;/support/gif/listen.gif&#34; BORDER=0 VALIGN=MIDDLE&gt; Suggested listening \(streaming mp3, 3 minutes\):&lt;BR&gt;&lt;A HREF=&#34;\#&#34; onClick=&#34;w=window.open \(&#39;/music1/17\_cent/lully\_theseus.html&#39;, &#39;newWin&#39;, &#39;scrollbars=yes,status=no,dependent=yes,screenX=0,screenY=0,width=350,height=350&#39;\);w.opener=this;w.focus\(\);return true&#34;&gt;&lt;B&gt;Jean-Baptiste Lully: Theseus, overture&lt;/B&gt;&lt;/A&gt; &lt;/TD&gt;&lt;/TR&gt;&lt;/TABLE&gt;

## Related artworks

- [Bust of Napoleon Bonaparte](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/canova-antonio-rd914cbbad96d76/bust-of-napoleon-bonaparte-r4f8f53ca741d07>)
- [Cupid and Psyche \(detail\)](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/canova-antonio-rd914cbbad96d76/cupid-and-psyche-detail-r6e6de529716b17>)
- [Cupid and Psyche \(detail\)](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/canova-antonio-rd914cbbad96d76/cupid-and-psyche-detail-r8bd836df49ca9c>)
- [Cupid and Psyche](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/canova-antonio-rd914cbbad96d76/cupid-and-psyche-r1e0d3b23c997d4>)
- [Cupid and Psyche](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/canova-antonio-rd914cbbad96d76/cupid-and-psyche-r3595c464a68f70>)
- [Cupid and Psyche](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/canova-antonio-rd914cbbad96d76/cupid-and-psyche-r78bd51678e0a91>)
- [Cupid and Psyche](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/canova-antonio-rd914cbbad96d76/cupid-and-psyche-rae93fc3abcebbd>)
- [Daedalus and Icarus](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/canova-antonio-rd914cbbad96d76/daedalus-and-icarus-r27777c3b82104a>)
- [Daedalus and Icarus](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/canova-antonio-rd914cbbad96d76/daedalus-and-icarus-racbcbc56067ebc>)
- [Eurydice](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/canova-antonio-rd914cbbad96d76/eurydice-r666beb17b4c0c1>)
- [Feed the Hungry](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/canova-antonio-rd914cbbad96d76/feed-the-hungry-r7c47c213cbc329>)
- [Funerary Monument of Francesco Pesaro \(model\)](<https://beta.wga.hu/artists/canova-antonio-rd914cbbad96d76/funerary-monument-of-francesco-pesaro-model-r8a396b025498e1>)

## Attribution

[Web Gallery of Art](<https://beta.wga.hu/pages/about>)