A bronze figure of Venus after the bath

CAST AFTER A MODEL BY GIAMBOLOGNA, PROBABLY FRENCH, 17TH CENTURY

Details

A bronze figure of Venus after the bath
Cast after a model by Giambologna, probably French, 17th century

On an integrally cast square plinth and an associated square black marble plinth.
Blackish brown patina with warm medium brown areas; chips to marble plinth.
5¼ in. (13.3 cm.) high

Literature

COMPARATIVE LITERATURE:
London, Victoria and Albert Museum, Giambologna 1529-1608 - Sculptor to the Medici, C. Avery and A. Radcliffe eds., 5 October - 16 November 1978, p. 64, no. 6.
C. Avery, Giambologna 1529-1608 - The Complete Sculpture, Oxford, 1987, p. 259, no. 51.

Lot Essay

It is generally argued that the present model, which is not documented as by Giambologna but has traditionally been attributed to him, must be a record in bronze of one of the early wax models mentioned by Vasari in the 1568 edition of the Lives as having been created during the sculptor's early years in Rome (London, and Avery, locs. cit.).

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