A FRENCH WHITE MARBLE FIGURE OF 'VENUS AU BAIN'

The prototype of the The Bather or Baigneuse, was executed by Etienne-Maurice Falconet in circa 1750 and was first exhibited in the Salon of 1757 described as 'no. 131 - Nymphe qui descend du bain'. Shortly after it entered the collection of Mme Du Barry at Louveciennes but was seized from her during the French revolution. It was subsequently documented in 1824 in the Grand Trianon at Versailles but was then moved to the Louvre sometime shortly after 1855.