The Crouching Venus seen from behind seated on a Scallop

Recorded as being in the Villa Medici in Rome in 1704, the Crouching Venus was placed in the Uffizi in 1787. Another version, excavated in the mid-18th Century at Salone and placed in the Vatican Museum, was engraved by Piranesi. The sculpture has always been a favourite among French artists, and Coysevox made an copy of it in 1686 for Versailles. The Crouching Venus was among the works of art requested by Vivant Denon for the Louvre during the Napoleonic wars.