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Venus

early 16th century
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 537
The sculptor’s simplified volumetric approach is remarkable even among German bronzes, in which simplicity and geometry were prized qualities. Exact parallels for the bejeweled goddess have not been found, but the planar treatment of the forms, the reinforced engraving of details such as nipples and navel, the gouging of facial features, and the grooved waves of hair are encountered in various works that originated in Innsbruck, as well as in Nuremberg and Augsburg. The necklace alone does not establish the identity of the goddess. She formerly held an object in her raised right hand and possible steadied something with her lowered left hand, whose thumb has broken. It is not out of the question that the statuette—which was attached to another object by means of the hole in the middle of the base—formed part of a fountain.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Venus
  • Date: early 16th century
  • Culture: Southern German
  • Medium: Bronze, with yellow-brown natural patina
  • Dimensions: Height: 11 1/2 in. (29.2 cm)
  • Classification: Sculpture-Bronze
  • Credit Line: The Jack and Belle Linsky Collection, 1982
  • Object Number: 1982.60.120
  • Curatorial Department: European Sculpture and Decorative Arts

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