![A bronze copy of the famous reclining Pauline Bonaparte](https://i2.wp.com/www.smallrooms.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/LivingRoom_2512.jpg?resize=829%2C1132)
The original Pauline Bonaparte as Venus Victrix was commissioned by her husband Camillo Borghese and executed in Rome from 1805 and 1808 by the Italian sculptor Antonio Canova. This life-size semi-nude evokes the ancient Roman tradition of depicting a mortal individual as a god and was considered daring for those times in that a lady of high rank was portrayed in the nude. Even though I have seen numerous copies, I never knew their provenance until one found its way into my living room.