BRONZE SCULPTURE, "VENUS ET L'AMOUR" (VENUS AND LOVE)
Brown patina bronze sculpture signed Edmé Antony Paul Noël (1845-1909), depicting Venus and Cupid. Nude, she holds her son, Amour, in one hand, and an arrow she has just withdrawn from him in the other. Amour, looking amused, rests on a stone, clutching Venus's leg. A stepped white marble base magnifies this beautiful sculpture. Cupid, son of Venus, goddess of beauty, love and seduction, is considered in Roman mythology to be his mother's devoted servant. He renders her many services, as the myth of Psyche attests. He is often depicted as a small angel, carrying a bow and arrow representing the points of desire. According to mythology, whoever is hit by one of these arrows immediately falls under the spell of the first person who sees. Edmé Antony Paul Noël, born 1845, is a French sculptor. At the École nationale supérieure des beaux-arts in Paris, he studied with Eugène Guillaume, Eugène-Louis Lequesne and Jules Cavelier. His "Thésée vainqueur du Minotaure" won him the Prix de Rome in 1868. He made his debut at the Salon des artistes français in 1872, before exhibiting at the Salon de la Société nationale des beaux-arts from 1891 until 1901. He was appointed professor of modeling at the École des Beaux-arts evening class in 1905, and died in 1909. He is buried in the Père-Lachaise cemetery in Paris.
Late 19th century
Circa: 1890
Dim: W:30cm, D:30cm, H:74cm.
Condition report good condition.
