Conrad Meit (ambito di), Little Venus

Patinated bronze; 20x5.5x5.5 cm The great artist Conrad Meit was a sculptor at the court of Margaret of Austria, regent of the Netherlands. He created monumental works in alabaster such as: the tombs of the sovereign, Filiberto of Savoy and Margherita of Bourbon in the church of Brou (1526-1532). He also created small sculptures in boxwood and alabaster, often with profane subjects, which were highly appreciated at the time and replicated both by his workshop and by others. Ours, in particular, is a copy of a boxwood sculptural group depicting the Judgement of Paris (composed of three other figures sculpted separately) now preserved at the Germanisches Nationalmuseum in Nuremberg. These rare, fascinating sculptures were also cast in bronze and represent the last phase of Northern European Gothic, before the diffusion of the classical dictates of the Italian Renaissance. For comparison, see the similar model preserved in the Museo Civico Amedeo Lia, in La Spezia, considered by Charles Avery to be a nineteenth-century copy. We thank the author for the cataloguing that inspired ours. Our little Venus has an excellent finish and a splendid transparent patina with brown tones. Bibl. Charles Avery, La Spezia-Amedeo Lia Civic Museum-Sculptures, bronzes, plaques, medals, Silvana Editoriale, Cinisello Balsamo, p.258.