Antonio Canova is considered the greatest Neoclassical sculptor of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Along with the painter Jacques Louis David, he was credited with ushering in a new aesthetic of clear, regularised form and calm repose inspired by classical antiquities.

For an excellent biogrpahy of Canova please visit: http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/nova/hd_nova.html
Ferando, Christina. “Antonio Canova (1757–1822).” In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000

http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/nova/hd_nova.htm (July 2016)