Venus de Medici, Over Life Size Carrara Marble Sculpture, after the Antique. 19th century Italian School. Marble. 82...

Description

Venus de Medici, Over Life Size Carrara Marble Sculpture, after the Antique
19th century Italian School
Marble
82 inches in height

The Venus de Medici, one of the best known and loved forms in the history of art, represents Venus, or in Greek terminology, Aphrodite, in a pose portraying her modesty as she emerges from the sea, the place of her birth, as symbolized by the dolphins at her feet. The original work, thought to be Aphrodite of Knidos (though not identical to the Venus de Medici) no longer exists, but was most likely created by the exceedingly famous Greek sculptor Praxieles in the 4th century, B. C. It is recorded as having been the first large scale female nude in classical sculpture. Thereafter the Venus was copied innumerable times and in many mediums, from paintings to bronzes to porcelains. The Venus de Medici has been considered the ideal female form and is thus meant to be viewed from all angles, as it is as beautiful from the back as it is from the front.

Provenance: from The Lamar Hunt Collection, Dallas.

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