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Lot Essay
This bronze Venus is known in one other, less accomplished, cast in Berlin (Staatliche Museen, Preussischer Kulturbesitz, Skulpturengalerie, inv. no. 1812), although the Berlin example does not have the elaborate decorated base and inscription evident here. When the Berlin Venus was exhibited in Frankfurt in 1985-86 (see Natur und Antike, loc. cit.), the author of the catalogue entry for the bronze noted the smooth surface modelling which suggested to him an origin in Florence. However he continued by saying that our knowledge of Florentine bronze production of the period was too vague to attempt a definite attribution.
It is true that the flowing, and gently curving lines of the Venus presented here are not entirely typical of bronzes from Padua and and the north east of Italy, however it is worth noting that there are other factors which link this bronze to those areas. The first is that, as discussed in the Frankfurt exhibition catalogue, the author of this bronze has used the same antique source as was used by the sculptor Antico for a bronze Venus which he is thought to have created for Isabella d'Este in around 1520 (see Allison, loc. cit.). Antico, one of the most celebrated artists of his day, spent most of his career working for the Gonzaga and their courtiers in Mantua at the end of the 15th and beginning of the 16th century.
In addition, the prevailing wistful tone of the figure of Venus betrays the influence of Andrea Riccio and the 'romantic' figures produced by him and by followers such as Desiderio da Firenze (see Planiscig, op. cit., pp. 420 and 424-429). The facial type evident here, with its oval form, and high-bridged nose, along with the centrally parted hair held by a diadem and trailing in two ringlets onto the upper breast, are strongly reminiscent of female heads by Riccio, including the Sphinx, in the Victoria and Albert Museum (illustrated in Planiscig, op. cit., p. 251, figs 279-280).
This beautifully cast bronze therefore shows characteristics of two of the most important artistic centres of Renaissance Italy. The Latin inscription, which can be translated roughly as 'This is a goddess but merely as a queen she rules the world' appears to suggest a division between her supernatural and earthly abilities to rule the world around her.
It is true that the flowing, and gently curving lines of the Venus presented here are not entirely typical of bronzes from Padua and and the north east of Italy, however it is worth noting that there are other factors which link this bronze to those areas. The first is that, as discussed in the Frankfurt exhibition catalogue, the author of this bronze has used the same antique source as was used by the sculptor Antico for a bronze Venus which he is thought to have created for Isabella d'Este in around 1520 (see Allison, loc. cit.). Antico, one of the most celebrated artists of his day, spent most of his career working for the Gonzaga and their courtiers in Mantua at the end of the 15th and beginning of the 16th century.
In addition, the prevailing wistful tone of the figure of Venus betrays the influence of Andrea Riccio and the 'romantic' figures produced by him and by followers such as Desiderio da Firenze (see Planiscig, op. cit., pp. 420 and 424-429). The facial type evident here, with its oval form, and high-bridged nose, along with the centrally parted hair held by a diadem and trailing in two ringlets onto the upper breast, are strongly reminiscent of female heads by Riccio, including the Sphinx, in the Victoria and Albert Museum (illustrated in Planiscig, op. cit., p. 251, figs 279-280).
This beautifully cast bronze therefore shows characteristics of two of the most important artistic centres of Renaissance Italy. The Latin inscription, which can be translated roughly as 'This is a goddess but merely as a queen she rules the world' appears to suggest a division between her supernatural and earthly abilities to rule the world around her.