Bather also called Venus at the Louvre, Paris, France

This sculpture is by Christoph Gabriel Allegrain was a French sculptor who tempered a neoclassical style with Rococo charm and softness, under the influence of his much more famous brother-in-law, Jean-Baptiste Pigalle. His single most famous work, a marble Bather (La Baigneuse), was commissioned for the royal residences through the Bâtiments du Roi in 1755; a modelled sketch was shown at the Salon of 1757. When the finished marble was finally exhibited at the Salon of 1767 it received a sensational reception. Critics said Allegrain not only sculpts the idealized body of a goddess but the naturalism of a woman - the flowing lines, full bodied flesh, lust of the gesture and the refinement of the hairstyle are eminently sensual work.