© V&A Picture Library
This relief is an autograph work by the artist.
It is likely that the torso of the figure derives from an antique source, though the treatment of the nude reflects the influence of contemporary Venetian painting, and especially of Giorgione. The inscription at the base (NVDA VENVS MADlDAS EXPRIMIT IMBRE COMAS) is from the Ars Amatoria of Ovid (iii. 224).
Provenance
Wilton House Estate