Italian School; following models of Classical Antiquity.

Italian School; following models of Classical Antiquity.
"Empress Faustina".
Bronze and marble base.
It shows wear.
It has a mark on the back.
Measurements: 76 x 53 x 26 cm.
Annia Galeria Faustina the Elder, sometimes called Faustina I or Faustina Major (c. 100 late October 140), was a Roman empress and wife of the Roman emperor Antoninus Pius. Emperor Marcus Aurelius was her nephew and later became her adopted son, along with Emperor Lucius Verus. She died early in the reign of Antoninus Pius, but continued to be commemorated as a divinity, posthumously playing a prominent symbolic role during his reign.
Aesthetically this 20th century work has an evident classical inspiration in its stylistic conception. This statement is evidenced by the play of folds that presents the toga that is arranged on the shoulders, in addition to the use of a refined technique, where the forms follow a classic canon of balanced anatomy that conveys an immutable beauty. Thus responding to a concept of aesthetic serenity typical of the classicism of the Italian school. However, the protagonist of the scene abandons the strict frontality, a feature that was common in the statuary of classical antiquity. This type of sculpture became popular during the eighteenth century, not only because of the aesthetic interest based on archaeological discoveries, which revealed many of the artistic works of the past, but also because of the notoriety that neoclassicism brought to portraiture as a genre, giving rise to the creation of this type of works or pantheons of illustrious men. As in the rest of Europe, the portrait became the leading genre par excellence, as a consequence of the new social structures that were implemented in the Western world throughout this century, embodying the ultimate expression of the transformation of taste and mentality of the new clientele, which emerged among the nobility and the wealthy gentry, who would take the reins of history in this period. While official circles gave preponderance to other artistic genres, such as history, and the incipient collectors encouraged the profusion of costume paintings, portraiture monopolized the demand for the more private sphere, as a reflection of the value of the individual in the new society. This genre embodies the permanent presence of the image of its protagonists.