A LOUIS XV TERRACOTTA FIGURE GROUP OF CUPID AWAKENING VENUS

MID-18TH CENTURY

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A LOUIS XV TERRACOTTA FIGURE GROUP OF CUPID AWAKENING VENUS
MID-18TH CENTURY
The figure reclining in drapery on a naturalistically moulded ground, on an associated giltwood plinth, some restorations, the stand inscribed 'No. 4621' twice in red chalk and with a blue bordered inventory label inscribed '4721'
12½ in. (32 cm.) high; 21 in. (53.5 cm.) wide overall

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拍品專文

This composition is related in subject matter and style to the oeuvre of French artists of the period, such as François Boucher (Paris 1703-1770) and his contemporaries. The Sleep of Venus was a particularly favoured artistic subject from the mid- and late-1730s. The Roman poet Lucretius, whose book De rerum natura invokes Venus as the goddess of creation and associates the awakening of Venus and Cupid with the coming of Spring, could have offered a validation from classical literature for this vision of antiquity. For a related composition see Christie's, London, 6 July 2006, lot 55.