Lot 158: AN ITALIAN CARVED MARBLE GROUP ENTITLED 'CUPID CAPTURED BY VENUS'

AN ITALIAN CARVED MARBLE GROUP ENTITLED 'CUPID CAPTURED BY VENUS'
BY GIOVANNI GIUSEPPE FONTANA (1821-1893), CIRCA 1870
The goddess depicted seated on a dolphin with Cupid at her side entrapped in a fisherman's net, inscribed 'G.Fontana' and with title to base
54 in. (157 cm.) high

Anonymous sale, Sotheby's Sussex, 1 June 1993, lot 457.

Giovanni Giuseppe Fontana was born in Carrara and studied at the Carrara Academy of Fine Arts before completing his training in Rome where he remained until 1849. Due to his support of the Republican cause Fontana was obliged to leave Italy. He moved initially to Paris, but then settled in London where he lived and worked until his death. He exhibited at the Royal Academy from 1852 to 1886 and examples of his work are in the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool.