Description
French 19th Century Bronze of Crouching Venus After Coysevox
From our Bronze Sculpture collection we are delighted to offer this French Bronze of Crouching Venus sat upon a turtle, after the celebrated model by Antoine Coysevox circa 1880. This exquisite piece depicts Venus, scantily clad in cloth and surprised at her bath. She crouches gracefully, her right knee near the ground, her head turned delicately to the right, while her arm crosses over her shoulder to modestly cover her breasts.
At the rear, a finely detailed tortoise supports the goddess, symbolising patience and stability. The bronze is chased with superb attention to detail and rests on a richly hued Siena marble plinth, bordered with a bronze frieze.
The model was first delivered in marble by Antoine Coysevox in 1686 for the Château de Marly. In his version, Venus rests on a tortoise rather than a shell, a choice that so delighted Louis XIV that both marble and bronze versions were commissioned. Today, the marble resides at the Musée du Louvre, while the bronze is proudly displayed in the gardens at the Château de Versailles.
This French school piece is a fine nineteenth-century tribute to Coysevox’s celebrated original, reflecting both the grace of classical antiquity and the prestige of French bronze casting.
Literature
– F. Haskell & N. Penny, For the Love of Antiquity. Greco-Roman statuary and European taste, London, 1981, pp. 349-51.
– R. Wenley, French Bronzes in the Wallace Collection, London, 2002, pp. 42-46.
– F. Souchal, French Sculptors of the 17th and 18th Centuries, London, 1993, Vol IV, p. 54
– Royal Collection Trust Aphrodite or ‘Crouching Venus’ 199 AD RCIN 69746
– Le Gallerie Degli Uffizi 1914 n. 188
Crouching Venus
Coysevox’s Crouching Venus was first completed in marble in 1686, drawing inspiration from antique models of Aphrodite at her bath. The pose, known from several ancient versions including the Lely Venus in the British Museum, shows the goddess crouching modestly while surprised at her bath. Coysevox created his version for Louis XIV, placing it at the Palace of Versailles alongside other celebrated reproductions of classical marbles such as the Venus de Medici and Castor and Pollux. Later moved to the Jardin des Tuileries in 1872, the marble is now housed in the Louvre Museum (inv. MR 1826). Historical sources also link the figure to a famous description of Aphrodite with a turtle, attributed to the Greek master Phidias (480–430 BC).
For further information please see our article Venus and the Crouching Venus in Art.
ANTOINE COYSEVOX (1640-1720)
Charles Antoine Coysevox was a French sculptor working in the Baroque and Louis XIV style. Coysevox was best known for his sculpture decorating the gardens and Palace of Versailles and his portrait busts.
BRONZE
Bronze has been one of the most widely used materials in art and design for centuries, valued for its strength, durability, and ability to capture fine detail. Popular from ancient civilisations to the 19th century, bronze has been used for statues, decorative objects, and functional pieces alike. In the late 19th century, artists in Vienna, including Franz Xaver Bergmann, perfected the technique of cold-painting, adding rich layers of colour to bronze without firing. This innovation, along with the timeless appeal of bronze’s patina and texture, ensures that antique bronze objects remain highly collectible today.
For further information please see our article Bronze Sculpture: History, Composition, and Casting Techniques.
Siena Marble (Sienna)
Siena marble consists of various dark yellow and gold colours, it is extremely heterogeneous due to the presence of grains with shades ranging from ivory white to light yellow to a reddish yellow ocher and is usually an intense marble.
For further information on marble please see our article Marble in Sculpture and Art: An A–Z of Historic and Significant Types.
MEASUREMENTSÂ
38cm High x 26cm Wide x 16cm Deep (15 x 10.25 x 6.3 Inches)
CONDITION
Good Antique Condition – old repair to marble
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