Giambologna’s Venus

Artisan: Neil Carter
Date: 2022
Inscriptions: signed ‘Neil Carter’ (on the underside)
Dimensions: 69 x 20 x 20 mm; 2 ¾ x ¾ x ¾ inches (height x width x depth)
Intended Room: Gallery
Inventory number: 2022.101
Category: Sculpture

Provenance: Purchased directly from the artist via Etsy in 2022.

This sensual Renaissance sculpture by Giambologna (1529-1608) has been reimagined in miniature by the brilliant bronze-caster Neil Carter. Having already purchased Neil’s version of Donatello’s David, which I love, it was simply a matter of time before Venus joined the line-up in the Gallery.

As ever, Neil’s work is magisterial: she might only be 2 ½ inches high, but this Venus is full of detail, from her individually defined toes to the curl of hair on the top of her head. He’s even captured the folds in the cloth that hangs over her thighs. As regards the original, numerous versions of Giambologna’s design survive, but it seems that the earliest surviving example by the master’s own hand is the 10-inch-tall bronze statuette dating to around 1565, now in the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna.