Yard Art - Redux

[sur4z]

I know there have been other threads on this topic but here is another. I have had this little statue for years but it was always somewhere inside. Recently I put it in the garden for kicks and I like it's location...but now I wanted to know more about the statue. Was it a Goddess? At first I thought she might be Hebe, daughter of Zeus and Hera, the cupbearer of the Gods and married to Heracles, but decided not because she didn't have a cup. After searching the interweb I have decided she is Empress Josephine's dancer. Josephine was married to Napolean and possessed the largest rose garden in the world. Presumably this statue was created for the Empress to be placed in her rose gardens.

The Empress Josephine's dancer and her subjects...

 

[John in Andalucia]

Hi sur4z,

My wife saw this over my shoulder in the kitchen just now and said, 'It's beautiful'. It looks great against the white wall, nicely framed by the plants and looking almost like a theatre stage. 

Your investigations are correct. To add some detail, it was apparently one of three statues by Italian sculptor Antonio Canova. The first statue was created for Empress Josephine and now resides at the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg. On their website is says: The statue has had various names, and Canova himself called it "Erato, Muse of the Dance of Love" in one of his letters."  The flamingos look great too!

[sur4z]

9 hours ago, John in Andalucia said:

Hi sur4z,

My wife saw this over my shoulder in the kitchen just now and said, 'It's beautiful'. It looks great against the white wall, nicely framed by the plants and looking almost like a theatre stage. 

Your investigations are correct. To add some detail, it was apparently one of three statues by Italian sculptor Antonio Canova. The first statue was created for Empress Josephine and now resides at the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg. On their website is says: The statue has had various names, and Canova himself called it "Erato, Muse of the Dance of Love" in one of his letters."  The flamingos look great too!

...what we do for our gardens.