Silver- And Gold-plated Bronze Bust—diane De Poitiers As Diana The Huntress, After Jean Goujon

Silver- and gold-plated bronze bust depicting Diane de Poitiers as Diana the Huntress, after Jean Goujon

An elegant bronze bust with a double patina—silvered and gilded—depicting an idealized young woman in the guise of Diana, identified as Diane de Poitiers according to an iconographic tradition dating back to the French Renaissance.

The head is slightly tilted and turned, in a pose marked by grace and restraint. The hair, rendered with great finesse in the chiseling, consists of wavy locks framing the face and heavy twisted braids gathered at the top of the head. It is held in place by a gilded bronze diadem, partially encircled by a cord, as well as by a headpiece in the shape of a stylized heart and foliage, enhancing the model’s regal character.

The bust is draped in the classical style with a fabric fastened over the shoulder by a gilded clasp; the drapery gracefully reveals one shoulder. A gilded shoulder strap crosses the chest, an attribute evoking the goddess of the hunt. The ensemble rests on a molded gilded bronze pedestal, which in turn sits on a gilded quadrangular base.

The refined contrast between the silver finish of the bust and the hair and the gilded accents of the diadem, the jewelry, the shoulder strap, and the pedestal lends the work a great decorative elegance.

This composition is based on a famous model traditionally attributed to the sculptor Jean Goujon (c. 1510 – c. 1567), one of the masters of French Renaissance sculpture, whose work is closely associated with the figure of Diane de Poitiers. This bust is a later version, in the Renaissance style, such as those produced in the 19th century.

Silver-plated and gilded bronze (double patina).

51.5 cm high