Bust after the Medici Venus: M.2-2021

Current Location: Gallery 7 (Courtauld)

Titles

Bust after the Medici Venus

Maker(s)

Sculptor: Unknown

Entities

Bust

Description

Bronze, cast, chased nad patinated

Bronze, cast, chased and patinated. Bust of a woman, facing left, with drapery, after the Medici Venus.

Legal notes

From the collection of Martin and Katharine Brunt. Accepted by HM Government in Lieu of Inheritance Tax and allocated to the Fitzwilliam, 2021.

Measurements and weight

Depth: 27 cm
Height: 68 cm
Width: 50 cm

Relative size of this object

What does this represent?

Relative size of this object is displayed using code inspired by Good Form and Spectacle's work on the British Museum's Waddeson Bequest website and their dimension drawer. They chose a tennis ball to represent a universally sized object, from which you could envisage the size of an object.

Place(s) associated

Florence ⪼ Italy

Acquisition and important dates

Method of acquisition: Allocated (2021-05-10) by H.M. Government

Dating

Circa 1700 - Circa 1750

Note

Probably made for a collector interested in classical antiquities, this bust is based on the Medici Venus, a 1st-century BCE life-size marble statue of Aphrodite, goddess of love. Considered from the later 1500s as the epitome of female beauty, the Medici Venus was frequently copied, normally as full-length reductions. Unusual in being full-size and incorporating drapery, this bust may have been displayed alongside some genuine ancient bronze or marble statues, in a grandiose entrance hall or library.