Large marble bust (Carrara?), height 0.81m, representing Diana of Poitiers.
French school, circa 1880.
The sculptor was inspired by the fountain at the Château d’Anet, now in the Louvre, attributed to Benvenuto Cellini and then Germain Pilon, but it was Jean Goujon who executed it around 1540-1560. Diane de Poitiers, mistress of King Henry II, is depicted as the goddess Diana, leaning on a stag. Rather than sculpting her nude, as in the original and Barbedienne’s bronze, the artist dressed her in antique style.
A very beautiful result, accentuated by the quality and shine of the marble, which undoubtedly comes from the Carrara quarries in Italy.
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