Pauline Bonaparte (Paulina Borghese) as Venus Victrix at the Palace of Living Art at Movieland Wax Museum had the distinction of being recreated as both a marble statue, and as a wax figure. Here we see the latter up for sale, and sitting on the King and I set. Her couch is missing and the figure looks quite odd reclining up against air. The figure must have been in storage, or at the San Fransisco wax museum before being sold at the Movieland auction.
This closer view of the figure shows more detail. The Palace of Living Art figures are some of my favorite.
Outside of the museum was this marble statue that graced the former entrance to the Palace. This and several other statues remained in front of the building until they were sold at the auction.
A night time view reveals what seems to be a repair, or repaint to the statue's chest.
A daytime close up also shows the repair to the breast of the statue.The wax figure sold at the auction for $900, while the marble statue sold for $7,000!
Visit the Palace of Living Art in San Fransisco here.
Tags: Palace of Living Art Wax Museum Pauline Bonaparte Venus Statue
I found your blog when I was looking for Palace of living arts. I read about it in Umberto Eco's book and was really surprised and curious because I didn't know it existed. I think I'll come back to read and learn more about these museum, it seams really incredible for me (I'm a student at the Ecole du Louvre ;) ).
ReplyDeleteBob -- could you send me some higher-quality photos of the wax figure of Pauline Bonaparte/Venus Victrix? These Palace of Living Art figures are gorgeous, and it's a shame they didn't make it into the newer version in San Fran. Thanks!!
ReplyDeleteRichard A.
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