Lot 46
46
A PAIR OF BRONZE FIGURES OF THE CESARINI VENUS AND THE CALLIPYGIAN VENUS
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A PAIR OF BRONZE FIGURES OF THE CESARINI VENUS AND THE CALLIPYGIAN VENUS

AFTER GIAMBOLOGNA AND THE ANTIQUE, ITALIAN, FIRST HALF 17TH CENTURY

Details
A PAIR OF BRONZE FIGURES OF THE CESARINI VENUS AND THE CALLIPYGIAN VENUS
AFTER GIAMBOLOGNA AND THE ANTIQUE, ITALIAN, FIRST HALF 17TH CENTURY
The former depicted resting her left foot on a pedestal and towelling her left breast, the latter holding a length of drapery around her back and revealing her buttocks; each on an integrally cast oval plinth and on a later circular ebonised wood socle; dark brown patina with warm chocolate brown high points
6 7/8 and 7¼ in. (17.4 and 18.4 cm.) high; 10 5/8 and 11 in. (27 and 28 cm.) high, overall (2)
Literature
COMPARATIVE LITERATURE:
F. Haskell and N. Penny, Taste and the Antique - The Lure of Classical Sculpture 1500-1900, New Haven and London, 1981, pp. 316-8, no. 83.
C. Avery, Giambologna - The Complete Sculpture, London, 1987, pp. 134 and 259, nos. 51 and 52.
Special notice
No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 15% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis.

Lot Essay

The present model of Venus drying herself derives from Giambologna's bronze conceived in circa 1565 and now in the Kunsthistorishes Museum, Vienna, while the Callipygian Venus, derives from the Roman copy of a Hellenistic prototype, which is now in the Museo Nazionale, Naples. Both models simultaneously acquired great fame during the second half of the 16th century presumably due to the subtle eroticism of the subjects as well as the dynamism of the compositions. It is not clear when and by whom the two models were reduced in scale and paired, such as in the present lot, but the colour of the patination, as well as the general composition and style all point to an early 17th century dating, which conforms to the dating of another identical pair sold in Sotheby's, London, 10 December 1992, lots 98 and 99 with an attribution to Francesco Fanelli.

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