Bronze copy of the Medici Venus by Jerry Fisher

Description

Prince Johann Adam Andreas I von Liechtenstein commissioned the artist Massimiliano Soldani-Benzi to create a bronze copy of the Medici Venus (Venus de Medici). The prince had seen the statue at the Uffizi Gallery and was impressed with it. Soldani-Benzi preferred using bronze as he felt it was a superior material that would more accurately reflect the subtle forms and shapes of the flesh as the bronze mellowed with age. Bronze has the added benefit of being stronger and more durable than marble. This would have been important when the copy was transported to Vienna from Florence. The commission was made in 1695 and the finished bronze was delivered in 1702. The bronze is on display at the Garden Palace in Vienna, Austria. The bronze copy differs slightly from the ancient statue. Stone is prone to breakage in spots where it is thin. The Medici Venus required the addition of a tree stump support behind the left leg to strengthen the ankle and dolphin from the heavier figure above. The right foot also required a small support. Soldani-Benzi didn't include the supports in the copy since they were unnecessary. The statue the bronze was copied from is itself an ancient copy of a lost original. The original was likely a bronze sculpture. The artist who created it is unknown. For more information about the bronze copy and the statue that it was copied from, please see: https://image.isu.pub/160621154931-121af03972277ce2736a1fe588480354/jpg/page_104.jpg…