Lot Essay
The present unpublished bronze group appears to be of French, or possibly Flemish, rather than Italian, origin, on account of the massive proportions of Venus's shoulders and widely spaced breasts, a type of female beauty which was popularised by painters like Mabuse and Heemskerck. Also, Venus is standing in a misunderstood contrapposto position with her torso and arms twisted in the same direction as her bent leg, an interpretation unlikely to have been created in Italy.
Parallels for the subject and pose may be found in two bronze groups of Northern origin. One, in the Royal Ontario Museum, has a similar arrangement of Venus's legs, but her right arm is brought forward and across her body, so that she pulls away from Cupid (cf. Keeble, op. cit.). The attribution of that group is insecure, though Hubert Gerhard is currently favoured; Adrian de Vries, Hendrik de Keyser and Caspar Gras having already been ruled out.
Analogies may also be found in a group of the same subject, set in a shell as a base, from the former Farnese Collection, and now in the Museo di Capodimonte, Naples (cf. Weihrauch, op. cit.). The arrangement of the head and arms of Venus is similar to the present group, but she is balanced on the other leg, and Cupid stands up on the dophin's back, supported by its lashing tail. This group was held by Weihrauch to be an early work of Adrien de Vries, but others have not been convinced. It is not, in any case, by the same hand as the present statuette.
A version of the present group is in the Musée du Louvre, Paris (cf. Gibbon, op. cit.). The Louvre statuette differs slightly in the wings of Cupid and in the arrangement of Venus's legs and inclination of her torso; otherwise it is almost identical to the present group.
The fine chiselling of Venus's plaited coiffure, and the charming expression on the chubby face of Cupid, have something of the Fontainebleau School about them, though the proportions of Venus's body are not as elongated as is typical of Fontainebleau. The red lacquer apparent on the present group is a French tradition.
Parallels for the subject and pose may be found in two bronze groups of Northern origin. One, in the Royal Ontario Museum, has a similar arrangement of Venus's legs, but her right arm is brought forward and across her body, so that she pulls away from Cupid (cf. Keeble, op. cit.). The attribution of that group is insecure, though Hubert Gerhard is currently favoured; Adrian de Vries, Hendrik de Keyser and Caspar Gras having already been ruled out.
Analogies may also be found in a group of the same subject, set in a shell as a base, from the former Farnese Collection, and now in the Museo di Capodimonte, Naples (cf. Weihrauch, op. cit.). The arrangement of the head and arms of Venus is similar to the present group, but she is balanced on the other leg, and Cupid stands up on the dophin's back, supported by its lashing tail. This group was held by Weihrauch to be an early work of Adrien de Vries, but others have not been convinced. It is not, in any case, by the same hand as the present statuette.
A version of the present group is in the Musée du Louvre, Paris (cf. Gibbon, op. cit.). The Louvre statuette differs slightly in the wings of Cupid and in the arrangement of Venus's legs and inclination of her torso; otherwise it is almost identical to the present group.
The fine chiselling of Venus's plaited coiffure, and the charming expression on the chubby face of Cupid, have something of the Fontainebleau School about them, though the proportions of Venus's body are not as elongated as is typical of Fontainebleau. The red lacquer apparent on the present group is a French tradition.