Venus Italica

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Antonio Canova's renowned Venus Italica was commissioned as a replacement for the famous Medici Venus that had been seized by Napoleon in 1802 and taken to the Louvre. The Medici Venus, similar to the Capitoline Venus, is itself a 1st Century BC copy of a work created by Cleomenes of Athens. The Venus Italica has been considered one of Canova's most subtle and complex creations, refusing to emulate the stolen Venus and giving it his signature Neoclassical style.