The William Henry Fox Talbot Catalogue Raisonné

Master record for Schaaf no. 2549

Bust of Venus

Attributed to: William Henry Fox Talbot

Alternate titles

Bust of Susanna, after Francois du Quesnoy

Created: 23 Jan 1841

Keywords: Sculpture

One of the objects most photographed by Talbot, this statuette seems always to have been known as the “Bust of Venus” by the Talbot family. It was often referred to as such in inscriptions made by the likes of Lady Elisabeth Feilding. It is in fact a “Bust of Susanna”, reduced from the original full-figure marble statue by the Baroque sculptor, François du Quesnoy (1597-1643). The original is in the church of Santa Maria di Loreto, in Rome.