Venus Felix
ca. 1510 | Pier Jacopo Alari de Bonacolsi, gen. Antico
A monumental Roman marble sculpture owned by Pope Julius II served as the model for this brilliantly executed statuette. Rather than merely copying the classical statue, however, Antico ingeniously reinterpreted it. He heightened its erotic appeal by allowing the deity’s cloak to slip below the pudendum, and enhanced the statuette’s sensuousness by applying a faultless dark finish and sumptuous gilding.
A monumental Roman marble sculpture owned by Pope Julius II served as the model for this brilliantly executed statuette. Rather than merely copying the classical statue, however, Antico ingeniously reinterpreted it. He heightened its erotic appeal by allowing the deity’s cloak to slip below the pudendum, and enhanced the statuette’s sensuousness by applying a faultless dark finish and sumptuous gilding.
Artist:
Pier Jacopo Alari de Bonacolsi, gen. Antico (um 1460 Mantua - 1528 Gazzuolo) DNB
Time:
ca. 1510
Object Name
Statuette; bronze sculpture
Culture
Mantua
Material/technology:
Partially gilded bronze, silver, limewood, Roman coins
Dimensions:
29,8 cm × 12,5 cm
Copyright
Kunsthistorisches Museum, Kunstkammer
Invs.
Kunstkammer, 5726