Bronze with a slightly corroded black patina, posthumous cast from a bronze edition started in 1974, bears the artist’s signature
and the TEP founder’s stamp 4/8, 100 x 55 x 50 cm.
The theme of the primitive Venus with opulent forms fascinated Stahly, who created several versions early in his career. This sculpture is the bronze enlargement created by the artistand features differences from the Hottentot Venus sculptedin wood in 1941/42, which owes its name to Henri-Pierre Roché, Stahly’s first collector and patron. This extraordinary figure, author of Jules and Jim, and intimate friend of Marcel Duchamp, introduced
avant-garde artists from the Parisian scene to the United States as early as
the 1910s, including Brancusi, whose works he passionately collected.