Pietro Bazzanti

PIETRO BAZZANTI ( Italy,1842 - 1881)
"Venus of the bath".
Carved marble.
Presents lack in a finger.
Signed. P.Bazzanti. Firenze.
Measurements. 89 x 40 x 48 cm; 119 cm (total height).
This work made in carved marble follows the classical model attributed to Doidalsas of Bithynia (3rd century B.C.). The Venus is in a kneeling position, with her body weight resting mainly on her left leg, while the right remains tucked backwards. The gentle twisting of the trunk accompanies an introspective and delicate gesture: the right arm crosses in front of the chest and rises towards the face, while the left hand descends naturally towards the bent knee. This arrangement generates a restrained contrapposto, which emphasizes the anatomical softness and the continuity of the curved lines.
The face, slightly inclined downward and to the right, presents idealized features: broad forehead, straight nose, short chin and closed lips in a serene expression. The hair, treated with meticulous detail, is gathered in a high bun with wavy locks that fall regularly on the forehead, following the Florentine neoclassical and romantic tradition.
Pietro Bazzanti was born in Florence, Tuscany, in 1842, into a renowned family of sculptors and craftsmen involved in the production of marble works and the city's art industry.
The most prominent member of the family in the first half of the century was Niccolò Bazzanti (1802-1869), academic sculptor and founder of the Galleria Bazzanti, one of the most active workshops in Florence in the sculpture trade for travelers on the Grand Tour.
Pietro was, according to known documentation, one of Niccolò's sons and brother of the sculptor Enrico Bazzanti (1837-1878), also notable for his Romantic and Neo-Renaissance themed ivories and marbles.
Pietro's artistic training was in the Florentine academic environment dominated by the Real Istituto di Belle Arti (now the Florence Academy), where young sculptors received training in drawing, modeling and carving techniques. Although no exhaustive academic record is preserved, his membership in the family workshop would have allowed him to participate from an early age in commissions both local and destined for the foreign market.