51 - Bertel Thorvaldsen (circle of)

Bertel Thorvaldsen (circle of) Bust of a Young Lady White statuary marble, on a circular, fluted marble pedestal; h. 56 x 17 cm A female bust portrait depicting a young woman with her face turned slightly to the left, her hair neatly parted in the center and gathered at the nape of her neck in an elaborate braided hairstyle. The bust, devoid of drapery and cut off at the chest in a sober, classical style, is characterized by smooth, controlled modeling, with idealized features, sharply defined eyelids, and a particularly accurate rendering of the hairstyle.A particularly significant point of reference is provided by the portraits of Wilhelmine Benigna Biron, Duchess of Sagan, sculpted by Thorvaldsen in Rome in 1818: the version in the more classical style features a similar central parting of the hair, a frontal pose, and a severe simplification of the torso.The purity of the profile, the smoothness of the surfaces, and above all the treatment of the hair find parallels among the sculptors active in Rome around Bertel Thorvaldsen between 1810 and 1830. Sotheby’s has cataloged a *Bust of a Young Lady* from the first half of the 19th century as a work from Thorvaldsen’s circle, specifically highlighting the similarity in the treatment of the hairstyle to the master’s female portraits. A small chip at the tip of the nose