Lot n° 118
Estimation :
4000 - 6000
EUR
Result without fees
Result
: 11 000EUR
19th century Italian school after Antonio Canova (1757 -1822 - Lot 118
19th century Italian school after Antonio Canova (1757 -1822)
Venus italica
Bronze bust with brown patina
H. 73 cm including 14 cm high pedestal and 4 cm high square marble base
Reference work :
Antonio Canova, Venus italica, 1812, marble, H. 172, Florence, Pitti Palace, Palatine Gallery.
Related literature:
Giuseppe Pavanello, Mario Praz, L'opera complete del Canova, Milan, Rozzoli, 1976, p.112.
Antonio Canova (1757-1821) was commissioned by Louis I of Etruria to create the original model of the Venus Italica, to replace the antique figure of the Medici Venus, taken by Napoleonic troops in 1802. Initially reluctant to carry out the commission, the sculptor soon agreed to put himself to the test in an attempt to surpass one of the masterpieces of ancient sculpture. Canova succeeded in breathing life into his figure, reinventing the grace of the antique model in a contemporary language. Completed in 1812, the figure was exhibited at the Palazzo Pitti in Florence and was a great success from the outset. It was then reproduced by the sculptor for illustrious patrons such as Lucien Bonaparte (1175-1840), Prince of Canino and brother of Napoleon. Becoming one of Canova's most popular sculptures, the Venus Italica was also copied by Italian sculptors throughout the 19th century and produced in bronze. Its execution as a bust involved the variant of the drape hiding the right breast without the presence of the hand.
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