Venus Crouching at The Giusti Palace Gardens, Verona

myminifactory

From the distinctive pose of a crouching nude female, this very weathered stone sculpture depicts the Goddess Venus emerging after bathing and reaching her right arm over her left shoulder to cover her breasts. This has been a popular reference for art since its conception in a passage in Pliny the Elder's Natural History, "Venus washing herself, of Daedalsas [and another], standing, of Polycharmus". Other ancient examples include the Lely Venus at The British Museum and The Crouching Venus of the Borghese Collection. Find other depictions of the sculpture on Scan the World here. The Giusti Palace and Garden are located in the east of Verona, Italy, a short distance from Piazza Isolo and near the city centre. Built in the sixteenth century, the palace is a 16th-century neo-Classical structure with a tower constructed in 1701. The Italian Renaissance gardens were planted in 1580 and are regarded as some of the most beautiful Renaissance gardens in Europe. First, only two square parterres right and left hand of the cypress way were designed, and a maze behind the right one, as figured in Nürnbergische Hesperides in 1714. Years later, four additional flower parterres were laid out to the left, as seen on a map in the Verona State Archives. A booklet, Il paradiso de' Fiori by Francesco Pona (1622), informs about the plants used at this time in Giardino Giusti. Some planting sketches by Pona are included in the new edition of this book, Milano 2006. The actual unifying layout of the garden parterres dates from early 20th century, and the maze was reconstructed after 1945. The Giusti family, owners of the palace since the 16th century, were entitled by the Austro-Hungarian Emperor to change their original surname to "Giusti del Giardino" because of the garden's importance. This object is part of "Scan The World". Scan the World is a non-profit initiative introduced by MyMiniFactory. We are creating a digital archive of fully 3D printable sculptures, artworks and landmarks from across the globe for public access. Scan the World is an open source community effort. If you have interesting items around you and would like to contribute, email stw@myminifactory.com to find out how. Scanned using Photogrammetry (Processed using Agisoft PhotoScan).