Capitoline Venus, Ancient marble statue at Capitoline Museums, Rome
The Capitoline Venus is a marble sculpture depicting the goddess in a modest posture and measuring 193 centimeters. It stands on a low pedestal and shows finely carved details in the hair and facial features.
Workers found the sculpture between 1670 and 1676 on Viminal Hill during urban construction work. Pope Benedict XIV acquired it in 1752 from the Stazi family for the newly founded Capitoline Museums.
The sculpture follows the Venus Pudica motif, in which the goddess covers her nudity with a graceful gesture. This form of representation became a popular theme in Roman art for portraying female beauty.
The sculpture is located in the Cabinet of Venus on the first floor of Palazzo Nuovo within the Capitoline Museums. The room offers good light to observe the details of the marble surface.
Napoleon had the sculpture brought to Paris in 1797 and commissioned a copy before he had to return the original. The return took place after the fall of the French Empire in 1816.
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