Funerary Monument of Maria Christina of Austria, Pietro Bonato, after Domenico del Frate, after Antonio Canova, 1805

etching and engraving, h 771mm × w 640mm More details

A highlight of Canova’s oeuvre is the tomb for Maria Christina, Archduchess of Austria, in the Augustinian Church in Vienna, made between 1789 and 1805. This highly original monument consists of a tomb with an open portal through which enters a cortege of life-sized sculpted figures. They lead the deceased to her final resting place as though in an everlasting funerary ritual.