Napoleon’s Naughty Sister
Reflecting back on my boyhood time in Italy, already a source for ErosBlog material, I came across another memory perhaps worth sharing. Tagging along this time in the Galleria Borghese, where we came across the Venus Victrix of Antonio Canova (1757-1822).
This sculpture is famous in no small measure because the model for it was Paulina Borghese, née Pauline Bonaparte; that is, Napoleon’s younger sister. It would be no exaggeration to say that she had led a rather colorful life.
But that’s not really what stuck in my head. What really stayed in my boyish mind was an apocryphal anecdote told by the accompanying art-history lecturer.
When this sculpture was unveiled, Paulina’s contemporaries were scandalized, of course. One of them was overheard to ask “Paulina, how could you?”
“There was a stove in the room,” was her demure response.
Shorter URL for sharing: http://www.erosblog.com/?p=3257
this scultpure was originally covered in wax, so that it looked even more like real flesh in the dancing candlelights…
In an art history class, my teacher said that it also rotated so that her guests could enjoy it in its entirety.
I remember seeing a photo of this sculpture for the first time as a young teen.
As I recall, it kinda felt like a stove was in the room with ME at that time as well…