How not to celebrate, with this painting, the image of the queen of models?
Pauline Bonaparte – married Borghese – is the icon of a non-conformist and uninhibited woman. Conscious of her own charm and beauty, she does not hesitate an instant before posing, repeatedly, completely nude for Antonio Canova.
This is the model every artist would like to have. A woman who knows how to interpret her role fully, aware that she too contributes to the greatness of Art and consequently guarantees herself immortality. Here the woman herself is a symbol of Art, a throbbing body of disarming purity.