ATTRIBUTED TO NICOLÒ ROCCATAGLIATA (FL. 1593-1636), LATE 16TH CENTURY OR EARLY 17TH CENTURY

Details

A BRONZE FIGURE OF VENUS MARINA
ATTRIBUTED TO NICOLÒ ROCCATAGLIATA (FL. 1593-1636), LATE 16TH CENTURY OR EARLY 17TH CENTURY
depicted standing, nude, with an urn on her right hip and a dolphin at her feet; on an integrally cast circular plinth and a later oval marble base
17 ¼ in. (43.8 cm.) high, the bronze; 18 7⁄8 in. (47.8 cm.) high, overall

Provenance

Alain Moatti, Paris, 1978,
Acquired from the above by the Blaquier-Arrieta Family.

Literature

COMPARATIVE LITERATURE:
L. Planiscig, Venezianische Bildhauer der Renaissance, Vienna, 1921, p. 582.
H. R. Weihrauch, Europäische Bronzestatuetten, Brunswick, 1964, p. 156.
W. Bode, The Italian Bronze Statuettes of the Renaissance, rev. ed. by J. Draper, New York, 1980, p. 57 and 102, pl. CLIX.
P. Motture, ed., Large Bronzes in the Renaissance, New Haven and London, 2003, pp. 277–307.

Conditions of sale

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Lot Essay

This figure of Venus stands astride a dolphin, whose foliate tail curls upward to cover the modesty of the goddess. The dolphin alludes to the birth of Venus from the sea and thus identifies her as the Venus Marina. This relation to the sea made the Venus Marina particularly popular in Venice. The present model and its other variants were largely made in the city, and were exceedingly popular at the time. Variations of this bronze have been attributed to Girolamo Campagna (1549-1625) and Tiziano Aspetti (1559-1606) (Weihrauch, 1967 and Planiscig, 1921, loc. cit.). This is a testament to the uncertainty in attributing Venetian bronze statuettes. This particular model has been attributed to Niccolò Roccatagliata on account of her facial type and rendering.

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