PRAGUE SCHOOL, 17TH CENTURY | Venus with Two Doves and a Golden Basin

Private collection, Europe;
By whom anonymously sold, London, Sotheby's, 9 December 2004, lot 138;
There acquired. 

The canvas is laid down on board and possibly backed with an additional board. The image reads well beneath a slightly discolored varnish. There is some finely patterned craquelure in areas here and there, consistent with age. While there are some retouches in the upper and lower background, mostly near the edges, the figure is largely well-preserved, with only a few scattered retouches in her body, for example, in her neck, a spot on her left and in her right arm, and a few scattered spots in her lower costume. Her face is largely untouched, with just a few very small and scattered spots of retouching. There is an old repair in her right foot and in the center of her chest. Most of the retouches have slightly discolored and are visible to the naked eye, although they are not distracting. Inspection under UV reveals the aforementioned retouches, as well as a varnish that fluoresces unevenly in areas around the face. There are a few very small and unnoticeable losses in the upper background. The painting can certainly hang in its present condition, though it might benefit from a freshened varnish and perhaps some of the discolored retouches could be addressed. Offered in a simply carved giltwood frame.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

This painting is strongly reminiscent of the female figure and facial types of artists from the Rudolfine Court in Prague, such as Joseph Heintz the Elder and Dirk de Quade van Ravesteyn, although the unusual reddish-brown ground suggests that it may be later in date.  The beautiful figure at center finds its source in a classical marble, the so-called Crouching Venus, that was well known by the mid-sixteenth century and inspired artists across various media, perhaps the most famous being Giambologna's bronze.  It is thought that Heintz freely drew an adaptation of this bronze using a live model imitating the sculpture's pose.¹ The goddess of Venus is rendered in a comparable crouching pose in Heintz's copper of Venus, Cupid and Apollo in Dresden.²  The present work is also particularly close in conception to two panels of a recumbent female nude, probably a Sleeping Venus, and though both were traditionally given to Heintz, they are now generally accepted to be by Ravesteyn.³   Another Venus by Ravesteyn is recorded in 1662  in the possessions of Elizabeth Sweerts, widow of Paulus Aertsz. van Ravesteyn, where it was celebrated in a poem by Hieronymous Sweerts.⁴  Though that work is now unlocated, it seems possible that the present painting may record this missing Venus. 1. Private collection, London; see J. Zimmer, Joseph Heintz der Ältere, Munich/Berlin 1988, p. 155, no. A 88 N, reproduced plate 131.
2.  See T. DaCosta Kaufmann, The School of Prague. Painting at the Court of Rudolf II, Chicago-London 1988, p. 193, cat. no. 7.34, reproduced.
3.  idem. pp. 224-5, nos. 16.12 & 16.13, both reproduced).
4.  "Op een Venus-beeld door Ravesteyn schilder van Keizer Rudulfus geschildert," idem. p. 225.