Bronze Venus In The Antique Style - Late 19th Century.

Grand Tour bronze with brown patina depicting Venus Victrix (or Venus with apple) after the original by sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen. Beautiful shaded-brown patina. Presented on a rectangular marble base.
Founded in Italy or France in the late 19th century.
Total height: 27 cm.
Height of bronze alone: 25 cm.

Bertel Thorvaldsen (1770-1844) models the original plaster of this work in Rome.

Such was the statue's success that it was produced in numerous sizes and materials (bronze, Sèvres cookie, Carrara marble) by various European foundries, notably French and German, throughout the 19th century. The monumental marble version (approx. 160 cm) is now in the Thorvaldsen Museum in Copenhagen.

The sculpture depicts the goddess Aphrodite (Venus) just after the Judgment of Paris. She is depicted standing, in a light, elegant contrapposto. Her left hand holds a drapery resting on a tree trunk, while she observes the trophy of her victory. In her right hand, she holds the golden apple awarded to her by Paris as the most beautiful of the Olympian gods, beating out Hera and Athena.