Theseus and the Minotaur
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| Antonio Canova, Theseus and the Minotaur, 1783 |
By FRANCESCA MAURO
According to Greek mythology, King Minos attacked Athens periodically out of nothing more than boredom. The King of Athens proposed a deal to ward off attacks for a while. If King Minos would agree to cease his brutal attacks for nine year, Athens would send seven young boys and seven young girls to be fed to King Minos' Minotaur.
Theseus, son of the King of Athens, implored his father to let him bring Minos' reign of terror to an end. He accompanied the 13 other unlucky youths chosen as Minotaur chow to Minos' island of Crete. Upon his arrival, Princess Ariadne, daughter of Minos, slipped Theseus a note. She offered to help Theseus defeat the Minotaur if he would bring her with him back to Athens.
Ariadne gave Theseus a sword, for obvious reasons, and a ball of string to tie to the door and trace back to the exit. Theseus entered the labyrinth and heroically defeated the Minotaur. He began his return to Athens with Ariadne. When the group stopped at a small island en route, Ariadne fell asleep and Theseus promptly abandoned her on the island.
In this sculpture, Canova disregards the dramatic battle between Theseus and the Minotaur and instead focuses on the aftermath. The resulting position of both Theseus and the slain Minotaur invoke a sense of homoeroticism not as obvious in Canova's other works. Instead of being intent on defeating his opponent, Theseus reclines, and his torso forms a diagonal with that of the Minotaur. The two figures create a balance and a seemingly even distribution of visual weight.
Canova, who is often considered among the best sculptors in history, followed a simple rule for his work: "sketch with fire, execute with phlegm." Canova rigorously made and revised sketches and prototypes of his sculptures before making his first cut. He allowed assistants to make the rough form of his sculpture, then the artist himself carved the finishing touches.
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