"Venus Italica" Bronze Sculpture Signed "Canova"

An antique Carrara marble sculpture “Venus Italica” after Antonio Canova (1757-1822) Made in Italy during the 19th century. When the Medici Venus was forcibly removed from the Tribuna of the Uffizi by Napoleon’s forces, King Louis I of Etruria commissioned Antonio Canova to replace the figure. True to nature, Canova submitted a wholly original figure to rival the antiquity, despite originally being asked to sculpt a copy. Canova’s Venus...

Antonio Canova (Italian, 1757-1822) is widely regarded as one of the masters of Neoclassical sculpture, and his marble group 'The Three Graces' is one of his most acclaimed works. This exceptional bronze group is a full-size replica of Canova's masterpiece, and exhibits much of the lightness, harmoniousness and elegance of the original. This bronze group was cast from Canova's original by the Italian Fonderia Versiliese, the foundry who cast the famous oversized sculptures...