Attributed to Antonio Susini (1558-1624) Italian, Florence, first quarter 17th century

Overall the condition of the bronze is very good with minor dirt and wear to the surface consistent with age. There are remnants of original lacquers. There is wear to the patina at the high points, in particular to Venus' back, proper left arm and proper right knee (particular wear to the knee), as well as to her face and proper right heel. There are some areas of green to the patina including to Venus' proper left thigh at the back and to Cupid's legs. There is a small lacuna to the drapery behind Venus' proper right leg and another below Venus' proper left hand. There are a few minor nicks, in particular to Venus' proper left hip and buttock and to Cupid's buttocks. There are a few patches of red including to the Virgin's proper right thigh, proper left buttock and back. The bolt in the base plate and fabric lined base are later. The base plate is a little warped.
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NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

This exquisite bronze represents a model which was attributed to Antonio Susini by Charles Avery and Anthony Radcliffe in their influential 1978 Giambologna exhibition catalogue (op. cit., nos. 10-11). Its prime cast is located in the Metropolitan Museum (inv. no. 32.100.183) and was, on account of its highly refined facture, considered by Radcliffe to be an autograph cast by the sculptor. A handful of other casts are known, including one in the Victoria and Albert Museum (inv. no. A.150-1910), yet the majority of these are significantly cruder and therefore likely to have been produced by later followers.

The present bronze is an unusually fine cast. The precisely modelled hair, pronounced eyelids, and the careful stippling of the cloth are analogous to the New York example and consistent with a Susini facture. Note also the characteristic reddish lacquer beneath the patina.

Distinguished by its enchanting interaction between mother and son, the present composition appears to be an imaginative reworking of a model thought to have originated in the workshop of Giambologna (1529-1608). Near-identical to the present composition but lacking the addition of the infant boy, it shows just the goddess in her elegant pose, seemingly bathing or removing a thorn from her foot (Avery and Radcliffe, op. cit., no. 8). It thus forms part of a series of models representing bathing women associated with Giambologna, whose raised legs are reminiscent of his marble group of Florence triumphant over Pisa, now in the Museo del Bargello, Florence (Avery, op. cit., figs. 90 and 91). Radcliffe's attribution of the present composition to Susini himself is based in part on similarities to his statuette of the Virgin and Child (op. cit., no. 92). 

RELATED LITERATURE
C. Avery and A. Radcliffe (eds.), Giambologna, 1529-1608: Sculptor to the Medici, exh. cat. Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna, et al., London, 1978, p. 67, nos. 10-11; C. Avery, Giambologna: The Complete Sculpture, Oxford, 1987, p. 79