In 1805, Antonio Canova was in Vienna to attend the erection of his monument for Arch Duchess Marie Christine in the Augustinerkirche. He had received the commission during his first visit to Vienna in 1798, and Johann Baptist Lampi made use of this occasion to sketch his portrait. The Viennese court tried in vain to persuade Canova, Rome’s leading sculptor at the time, to stay in Vienna. But Canova did take on the function of advisor in matters of art, and he looked after the Rome scholars from the Vienna Academy.

In this portrait, Lampi the Younger follows his father’s earlier composition, depicting Canova in his studio in three-quarter view standing in front of the sleeping genius figure from the tomb of Marie Christine. His right hand is resting on the handle of a hammer that is standing on a modelling stool. The sculptor is posing in front of his finished work, still holding a chisel in his left hand. This pose is almost Baroque and contrasts somewhat with the very precise and sensitive depiction of the sculptor’s facial expression. The ultimate aim was, however, exactly this heightening of the work of the sculptor as an empathetic artist, and the laurel wreath is just another indication of Canova’s outstanding personality.