Large Marble Bust Of Ariadne, 19th Century.

Magnificent white marble bust representing the goddess Ariadne, "the one who is the purest" in Greek, wife of Bacchus (Dionysos) of which she wears certain attributes here.
It is to Bertel Torvaldsen (1770-1844) that we owe this representation of Ariadne, who seems to have merged with her husband Bacchus. Baron Theodor von der Ropp ordered from Torvaldsen, in 1804, eight busts of mythological characters from the Hellenistic period, including this model (see documentation of the order kept at the Torvaldsen Museum in the appendix in the photo gallery).
The artist's idea of mixing the two spouses was quite logical in the end because the original statue kept at the Capitoline Museum in Rome was in turn considered to be the representation of Bacchus for some or Ariadne for others. Torvaldsen only took the character's mysterious androgyny one step further. Moreover, by not naming his work, he continued to maintain the mystery.
In the 19th and 20th centuries and even today, opinions remain divided.

Very fine sculpture for this marble of imposing size that can be dated to the first half of the 19th century, even if it is always very difficult to be able to date a marble precisely.

Very good state of conservation.

Dimensions
Height: 23,6 inches 
Width: 13 inches 

A bit of mythological history:
Ariadne, daughter of Minos, king of Crete, is the goddess of the shining moon and the dark underground, mistress of the Labyrinth enclosing the Minautor. She is both a goddess, an archetype and a mortal woman.
We remember from its history, the help brought to Theseus, prince of Athens. Indeed, she gave him a ball of wool yarn so that he could find and assassinate the Minautor while finding his way back to Athens. On the strength of his success, he promised to marry Ariadne but did not. He offered this favor to another woman by abandoning Ariadne on a desert island where she died of despair.
Saved by Bacchus (Dionysos), they marry and the god makes her goddess of the labyrinth. Very much in love and devoted to his wife, Bacchus becomes the only monogamous Greek god.

Bertel Torvaldsen (1770-1844) is a Danish sculptor from the Royal Academy of Fine Arts where he won all the prizes. In 1797, having received a royal scholarship, he went to Rome to start working. Immediately he is noticed and receives praise from the famous Antonio Canova. In this momentum, the English collector Thomas Hope commissioned a marble version of "his Jason", thus triggering the beginning of his success.

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