Lot 1658 Dα

Eduard Mayer

Aphrodite with a Dolphin by Eduard Mayer.

Carrara marble, carved in the round and partially freestanding.. A finely carved figure of the goddess standing in a pronounced contrapposto stance with a dolphin as her attribute, designed to be viewed in the round. Signed on the back of the plinth “EDUARD MAYER F. ROMA”. Eduard Mayer was born in Hunsrück and thought to have begun his training with Christian Daniel Rauch in Berlin in around 1835. He worked in Paris under Pierre-Jean David d ´Angers from 1840 to 1842, where he came into contact with the new French style of Realism. He made several sojourns to Rome between 1842 and 1842 and his works from this time illustrate his interest in the oeuvre of Bertel Thorvaldsen, who passed away in 1844. However, they not only display references to the works of Thorvaldsen, but also illustrate the way in which Eduard Mayer began to distance himself from Classical models, in contrast to his earlier works, in order to create more naturalistic designs, as evident in this figure of Aphrodite.
In pristine condition with only very minor wear to the plinth. Height 120 cm.