"La Femme à la toilette" by Canova is a sculpture in alabaster, depicting Aphrodite emerging from the bath, holding back her flowing drapery to reveal a breast. Surprised by her nudity, with her gaze turned to the left, she modestly raises her drapery to conceal her nakedness. Her curly hair is held back by a ribbon. At her feet, a 4-legged lion sits, slightly concealed beneath her drapery. The statue is based onAntonio Canova's "Venus Italica" (Palazzo Pitti, Florence). He drew his inspiration from classical Greek statues, using the same canons for the proportions of the body, but with greater finesse. In 1801, Napoleon Bonaparte drove the Consul out of Florence and claimed the Venus de' Medici, a Greek sculpture dating from the 1st century BC. Faced with this loss, a few years later the city of Florence commissioned Antonio Canova to create a statue to replace the lost ancient masterpiece.
Late 19th century
Circa: 1890
Dim: W:15cm, D:15cm, H:50cm.
Condition report: Some scratches on the base. Natural crack on the right foot.
- Reference :
- 3009
- Availability :
- Object available
- Width :
- 15 (cm)
- Height :
- 50 (cm)
- Depth :
- 15 (cm)
- Identifier Exists:
- False
