"Eros. Italy, late sixteenth-early seventeenth century.

"Eros. Italy, late sixteenth century-early seventeenth century.
Bronze, with brown patina.
Malachite and black marble pedestal.
Provenance: Vincent Laloux Collection, Brussels (with certificate).
Slight flaws in the marble.
Measurements: 49 x 14 x 10 cm.

This elegant figure of Eros is part of the Italian bronze tradition of the late Renaissance and early Baroque, a time when small-format sculpture reached great sophistication, destined both for collectors' cabinets and refined interiors.

The representation of the young god of love, here in triumphant attitude with arms raised, refers to classical models reinterpreted with a more dynamic and expressive language typical of the transition between the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

The modeling reveals a clear anatomical knowledge, with a soft and naturalistic musculature, while the slight movement of the torso and the liveliness of the gesture provide a sense of almost aerial lightness, in keeping with the nature of the character. The brown patina, rich and deep, accentuates the volumes and reinforces the sculptural quality of the bronze, in dialogue with the tradition of the Italian workshops that knew how to reinterpret classical antiquity with great virtuosity.

The malachite and black marble base underlines the decorative character of the object, while responding to a historicist taste that is highly appreciated in European collectors.