William Etty (1787-1849) is the artist you are looking for. Here is a short biography.
Etty was born in York and trained in London. He was inspired by the writing of Reynolds to become a history painter, and visited Italy, where he was impressed by the rich colour and lively brushwork of Venetian painters, such as Titian and Veronese. He exhibited large figure compositions of nudes, which some considered indecent, and is now best known for his small-scale nude studies.
There is an article about the restoration of Etty's paintings which took place at Manchester Art Gallery last year. It also mentions the Venus and Doves painting. See http://www.24hourmuseum.org.uk/manchester/news/ART34804.html?ixsid=