Venus

c. 1560

Venus, c. 1560. Danese Cattaneo (Italian, 1509–1573). Bronze; overall: 52.9 x 20 x 12 cm (20 13/16 x 7 7/8 x 4 3/4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, John L. Severance Fund 1950.578 Cattaneo's Venus is reminiscent of the ancient Aphrodite of Knidos by Praxiteles (Greek, c. 375–340 BC), as Venus holds her drapery in her right hand, leaving her body fully exposed. This work recalls Cattaneo's bronze sculptures of goddesses with the unbalanced curvature of the body and elaborately sculpted hair. Along with the hands and feet, the back of the figure is largely unfinished, indicating that it probably originally stood against a wall or in a niche.