Geoffrey67
"Venus Victrix" by Canova and...by me :)
On the left side, "Pauline Bonaparte as Venus Victrix", the famous neo-Classical portrait sculpture executed in Rome between 1805 and 1808 by the Italian sculptor Antonio Canova, on commission from Pauline´s second husband, Camillo Borghese.
On the right, my colored version of the statue which should give an idea of how the work would have looked if Camillo Borghese had commissioned a painting of his wife instead of a sculpture. Or, if you prefer, should give an idea of Pauline posing during the making of this masterpiece.
Actually it is not sure whether or not Pauline, the younger sister of Napoleon, posed naked for the sculpture. When asked how she could pose for Canova wearing so little, she allegedly replied that there was a stove in the studio to keep her warm, though this might have been just a quip deliberately designed by her to stir up scandal.
With this statue Canova followed the fashion of that time to revive the ancient Roman artistic traditions of portrayals of mortal individuals in the guise of gods and of beautiful female forms reclining on a couch.
The wooden base, draped like a catafalque, once contained a mechanism for rotating the sculpture, so that viewers could observe it from all angles without moving themselves.
The statue is currently exhibited at the Galleria Borghese in Rome.
Its acclaimed lustre was not only due to the fine quality of the marble but also to the waxed surface, which has been recently restored.
"Venus Victrix" by Canova and...by me :)
On the left side, "Pauline Bonaparte as Venus Victrix", the famous neo-Classical portrait sculpture executed in Rome between 1805 and 1808 by the Italian sculptor Antonio Canova, on commission from Pauline´s second husband, Camillo Borghese.
On the right, my colored version of the statue which should give an idea of how the work would have looked if Camillo Borghese had commissioned a painting of his wife instead of a sculpture. Or, if you prefer, should give an idea of Pauline posing during the making of this masterpiece.
Actually it is not sure whether or not Pauline, the younger sister of Napoleon, posed naked for the sculpture. When asked how she could pose for Canova wearing so little, she allegedly replied that there was a stove in the studio to keep her warm, though this might have been just a quip deliberately designed by her to stir up scandal.
With this statue Canova followed the fashion of that time to revive the ancient Roman artistic traditions of portrayals of mortal individuals in the guise of gods and of beautiful female forms reclining on a couch.
The wooden base, draped like a catafalque, once contained a mechanism for rotating the sculpture, so that viewers could observe it from all angles without moving themselves.
The statue is currently exhibited at the Galleria Borghese in Rome.
Its acclaimed lustre was not only due to the fine quality of the marble but also to the waxed surface, which has been recently restored.