The Female Nude : Aphrodite Of Knidos And The Female Nude

Reclining nude female is a common subject matter in art history since the Venetian Renaissance, Titian’s Venus of Urbino painted in 1538 is one of the earliest reclining nude female in painting history. It described a beautiful young female laying on her bed with her sleeping dog, on the back ground is her maids looking for cloth or her in the cassone. Manet’s Olympia that painted in 1865 is a painting with a similar composition, A nude young female who was suggested a prostitute, behind her is her black female maid holding a big bouquet of flower which is possibly from her customer. On the same part of the composition, there is an animal as well, but this time it is a cat. Titian and Manet’s reclining nude female have a same composition and subject matter, however They are very different in art history, both stylistically and culturally.

Aphrodite statues were very popular in Greece during the Hellenistic period. The marble Aphrodite of Knidos was the most renowned among the many Greek goddesses. Also written as the Aphrodite of Cnidus, the marble sculpture was created by an Attic sculptor known as Praxiteles during the 4th century BC. Arguably, it is believed to be the earliest major sculpture to show the goddess in the nude. Praxiteles also created another draped version of the marble Aphrodite of Knidos. It is said that the draped version was the first to be sold, while the nude version remained rejected

1. Venus figurines: Figurines carved to depict a female's body. These figurines often exaggerated the female's body parts such as the breast, buttocks, hips, and the stomach. The figurines were usually carved from stone, antlers, mammoth tusks, or baked clay. These figurines have convinced some scholars that Paleolithic thought had a strongly feminine dimension.

The style of the Venus of Willendorf is appropriate for her time period because most early pre-historic art consists of small figurines of nude women with little or no emphasis on facial features, which are exactly the characteristics of the Venus of Willendorf.

The Venus of Willendorf was found in 1908 by a workman named “Johann Veran” (Selen). It was found by archeologists at a Paleolithic site. Here at the Naturhistorisches Museum in Vienna, Austria, we have the only authentic Venus Figurine (Naturhistorisches Museum Wien). The artifact’s purpose is still being speculated by many. But from what I can infer, the figurine was used a a maternal figure, and it shows the richness of female fertility.

During my visit to the Tampa Museum of Art, I observed and viewed various pieces from The Classical World exhibit. While I observed numerous works, I was drawn to a specific piece due to its uniqueness when compared to the other pieces in the exhibit. In this paper, I will be describing The Torso of Aphrodite, using my own viewpoints and the elements of formal art analysis, in order to explain the uniqueness when compared to other pieces in The Classical World exhibit.

The visual work I have chosen is the Bith of Venus and is one of the world’s most famous works of art. Painted by Sandro Botticelli between 1482 and 1485, it is the first example of painting on canvas. The written work I have chosen is the Stanze per la Giostra. It was written by Angelo Poliziano, written between 1475-8. Both works are examples from the Italian Renaissance era, during the Medici rule, and share the theme of beauty and humanism. The works I've selected share the same subject matter, Venus, and is the perfect example of beauty and humanism. She is the epitome of beauty and her birth from the sea is an example of her metamorphosis of humanism. For this paper, I will compare both works then discuss how the shared theme is seen in contemporary works. How does Venus and her beautiful metamorphosis fit into contemporary forms of beauty and humanism?

The reading claims that nudes throughout artistic history have been an important source of beauty and controversy. Nudes began to spike during the Baroque period as they were used for the more expressive and emotional arts of the time. In the nineteenth century, nudes became more common, yet became more sensitive. Artists would train by drawing nudes of ancient Greek statues and figures from myth. However, many artists would then move on to create works depicting prostitutes or peasant naked women. This would not please patrons as they were extremely societally taboo. However, this did not start artists from making them, as they moved into the twentieth and twenty-first century. This shows the importance of artistic nudes and their impact

nude goddess and depicted the same image in his painting The Birth of Venus (1482). This

Peter Paul Rubens’ masterpiece, Venus and Adonis, is not only a significant artwork of the baroque-period in Europe during the seventeenth century, but it also tells the mythological story that begins with love, and ends in tragedy. Displayed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, this painting is admired for representing the unique baroque-style of this era, as well as Rubens’ particular use of the medium and how it reaches those who are viewing it. His attention to detail and crafty use of symbolism within the painting assist viewers in deciphering the story, along with the values of the period in which Rubens was living. In studying the composition of the work and noting the historical context from which it came, one can ultimately

On the left side of the painting, Venus is resting her arm on a red cushion, watching her lover sleep. She appears very composed and in control of her body; in contrast to Mars who seems lost in a different world and in a very relaxed pose. She is fully clothed, whereas Mars in naked and only partially covered by a small white cloth. Botticelli portrays Venus as a beautiful, young woman in contemporary clothing. Her dress consists of multiple layers of thin, white fabric which appears sheer in places e.g. her legs. The way in which the bodice draws attention to and accentuates her curves, emphasizes her physical and sexual desirability (Rubin, 2000). Her braids are arranged in a complex hairstyle and are clasped together

One very noteworthy statue of the Classical Period was called “Aphrodite of Knidos”. The original sculpture inspired various amounts of copies, but sadly the original itself did not survive. “Aphrodite of Knidos” was created by Praxitele and is thought to be the most famous sculptures of Classical Greece. The sculpture depicts Aphrodite just have taken off her clothes and was about to step into the bath. She may have had an onlooker and she covered her pelvis from their view.

Twenty eight years after Giorgione’s death, as a close friend to him, Titian created another version of the reclining female nude, which is also one of the most famous female nude in art history - the Venus of Urbino in 1538. It was an oil painting on canvas, and now located at Uffizi gallery in Florence.

Artemisia Gentileschi, Venus and Cupid, ca. 1625-30. Oil on canvas, 38 x 56 5/6 inches. Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, VA.

The Birth of Venus (Nascita di Venere) is a painting done by Florentine artist Sandro Botticelli in 1486. The painting depicts the moment the goddess Venus first emerges from the waters of the sea and prepares to step onto the shore. Through linear techinques and artistic symbolism, the painting not only depicts the story and narrative of the goddess Venus’s birth but also seeks to exhibit the many different types of love and adoration which surround the creation of life.