DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.15094#0035
PLATE VIII.
A statue of Venus, naked to the waist, and covered with drapery
from thence downwards. The drapery, though bold, is light and
finished, and is supported by being thrown over the right arm.
The attitude of the statue is easy and graceful, and the inclination
of the head perfectly corresponds with the character and expression
of the whole figure. The sculpture is of the highest order, and
the original polish of the marble is admirably preserved, but the
left arm, the right hand, and the tip of the nose have been restored :
upon the whole this figure may rank as one of the finest female
statues which have been yet discovered.
It consists of two pieces of marble, imperceptibly joined at the
lower part of the body, within the drapery. The marble of which
the body is composed, is of a lighter colour, than that of which
the drapery is formed, and the beautiful effect produced by this
contrast proves that it was not an accidental circumstance, but
was the result of previous knowledge and skill in the artist. It
was in consequence of the two parts being detached, that they were
allowed to be exported from Italy, as fragments of two different
statues.
This exquisite piece of sculpture was found in the ruins of the
maritime baths of the Emperor Claudius,(l) at Ostia, by Mr. Gavin
Hamilton, in the year ±776. A figure of Venus very nearly re-
sembling the present, but with the position of the arms reversed,
occurs on a medallion, in bronze, of Lucilla,(2) where the god-
dess is represented standing at the edge of the sea, or at the
head of a bath, surrounded by Cupids, one of which is leaping
1 It is known that maritime baths were built at Ostia, by the Emperor Claudius, from
the fragment of an inscription, which was found there with this statue. From other in-
scriptions, discovered at the same time, we learn that these baths were repaired by diffe-
rent Emperors, down to the time of Constantine.
1 Numismata serea selectiora Maximi Moduli e Museo Pisano, Tab. xxv. fig. 3.
A statue of Venus, naked to the waist, and covered with drapery
from thence downwards. The drapery, though bold, is light and
finished, and is supported by being thrown over the right arm.
The attitude of the statue is easy and graceful, and the inclination
of the head perfectly corresponds with the character and expression
of the whole figure. The sculpture is of the highest order, and
the original polish of the marble is admirably preserved, but the
left arm, the right hand, and the tip of the nose have been restored :
upon the whole this figure may rank as one of the finest female
statues which have been yet discovered.
It consists of two pieces of marble, imperceptibly joined at the
lower part of the body, within the drapery. The marble of which
the body is composed, is of a lighter colour, than that of which
the drapery is formed, and the beautiful effect produced by this
contrast proves that it was not an accidental circumstance, but
was the result of previous knowledge and skill in the artist. It
was in consequence of the two parts being detached, that they were
allowed to be exported from Italy, as fragments of two different
statues.
This exquisite piece of sculpture was found in the ruins of the
maritime baths of the Emperor Claudius,(l) at Ostia, by Mr. Gavin
Hamilton, in the year ±776. A figure of Venus very nearly re-
sembling the present, but with the position of the arms reversed,
occurs on a medallion, in bronze, of Lucilla,(2) where the god-
dess is represented standing at the edge of the sea, or at the
head of a bath, surrounded by Cupids, one of which is leaping
1 It is known that maritime baths were built at Ostia, by the Emperor Claudius, from
the fragment of an inscription, which was found there with this statue. From other in-
scriptions, discovered at the same time, we learn that these baths were repaired by diffe-
rent Emperors, down to the time of Constantine.
1 Numismata serea selectiora Maximi Moduli e Museo Pisano, Tab. xxv. fig. 3.