This figure of Parian marble represents the goddess of beauty issuing
from the bath. Her charms are not concealed by any veil or garment.
She is slightly turning her head to the left, as if to smile on the
Graces, who are supposed to be preparing to attire her.
In point of execution, this is allowed to be the most beautiful of
all the statues of Venus which we have remaining. The _Venus of
Medicis_ surpasses it in sublimity of form, approaching nearer to
_ideal_ beauty.
Bupalus, a sculptor of the Isle of Scio, is said to have produced
this master-piece. He lived 600 years before Christ, so that it has
now been in existence upwards of two thousand four hundred years. It
was found about the middle of the eighteenth century, near
_San-Vitale_, at Rome. Benedict XIV having purchased it of the
_Stati_ family, placed it in the Capitol.