File:The art of the Pitti Palace - with a short history of the building of the palace, and its owners, and an appreciation of its treasures (1903) (14801604983).jpg

Identifier: artofpittipalace1903addi (find matches)
Title: The art of the Pitti Palace : with a short history of the building of the palace, and its owners, and an appreciation of its treasures
Year: 1903 (1900s)
Authors: Addison, Julia de Wolf Gibbs, 1866-
Subjects: Palazzo Pitti Painting
Publisher: Boston : L.C. Page
Contributing Library: Harold B. Lee Library
Digitizing Sponsor: Brigham Young University

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thisVenus and the Venus de Medici seemed very great,but she adds that Canovas is a very beautiful crea-tion. The attitude of this famous and well-knownstatue is similar to that of its prototype, but notcopied from it. While the Venus de Medici is rathershort and stocky for our modern taste, she embodiedexactly the round and smooth ideal of the earlynineteenth century. Canova, foreseeing, perhaps, alittle of what changes were to come over the tastesof an increasingly intellectual generation, has madehis goddess slighter, more active, and taller. Inthese particulars he has improved upon the propor-tions of the original. She is represented, like theMedici, as having just issued from the bath, butshe is draped more than the classic statue. Thisdrapery is no defect, for the suggestion of gracefullimbs and other charms which issue from the foldsthat she has hastily caught up before her is ratherpiquant than otherwise, though less modest in acertain sense, because it shows a consciousness of
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> >O <o H O1x4 o < N <: c/3 Ubc Stansa of flora 337 nudity. One corner of the drapery falls obliquelyin front, and the rest falls gracefully to the groundin small Greek folds. The figure is poised on theright foot, with the left foot a little behind, the leftknee drawn in close to the right one. The rightarm is concealed by the mantle, which is thrownover the right shoulder, but the left arm is entirelyundraped, as is the whole side, so that the extremelygraceful line from neck to ankle is unbroken. Theleft hand holds the garment up to her breast, butnot enough to prevent the beautiful modelling frombeing seen. The lines of the upper part of the figure of Ca-novas Venus are delicate, with the slight and vir-ginal charm of early youth, rather than with thevoluptuous maturity of the Venus de Medici. Theideal is more spiritual and more tender. The headis turned to the left, and in this is a little unnatural,because if the sound of approaching steps, whichshe has evidently

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