Venus
by MACDONALD, Lawrence, White marble, height 167 cm
The composition of the Venus is derived from the celebrated Tauride Venus of Greek antiquity, known from a 2nd-century AD Roman Imperial copy in the Hermitage, St Petersburg. Whilst ideal works such as the present Venus are relatively rare in MacDonald’s oeuvre, given his popularity as a portraitist, his serene Neoclassicism lends itself perfectly to the genre.
The statue is signed and dated: L. MACDONALD. FECIT / ROMA. 1857.