Venus Of Willendorf Vs Venus De Milo Essay

873 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The venus of willendorf

The Venus of Willendorf and the Venus de Milo are two ancient day venus sculptures representing two different views on beauty. The Venus of Willendorf is a small 4.5 inch limestone figure of a Goddess which is believed to be used as a fertility symbol, while the Venus de Milo is a tall ancient Greek statue of a Goddess which is said to represent love and beauty. The Venus of Willendorf’s body structure is very different than that of Venus de Milo. The venus of Willendorf appears to be a short lady with a large emphasis on her reproductive organs, breasts and stomach area whereas the Venus de Milo appears to be very tall with smaller breasts, and a really athletic build. She appears to have abs and looks as if she has not had children before, while the Venus of Willendorf looks like she has had children due to her huge breasts and stretched out belly button. The Venus …show more content…

This is probably a culture difference or a time difference since the Venus of Willendorf was created in 28,000-25,000 BCE and the Venus de Milo was created 130-100 BC and is a form of a Hellenistic style. Another difference is the fact that the Venus of Willendorf is not wearing any form of clothing and is totally exposed. The Venus de Milo has her bottom half covered with a sheet hiding her lower body and lower reproductive organs which contrasts the Venus of Willendorf and her enlarged lower organs. A similarity that these two pieces of art work have is the fact that they are both missing a body part. The Venus of Willendorf does not have arms or feet while the Venus de Milo is missing her arms. Another similarity is the fact that they were both Venus’ and created in BCE. Although they are both Venus’, they represent different forms of beauty. The Venus of Willendorf emphasizes the beauty of reproduction and sex, while the Venus de Milo emphasizes the beauty of strength and having a nice elegant

Show More
Related

  • Kroisos vs Doryphoros

    556 Words  | 2 Pages

    The emotion in the figures is also very different. In the archaic figure, the face contains emotion other than the archaic smile. The eyes are closed with no facial expression. The classical statue on the other hand does not have any facial expressions but has open eyes and no smile.

    Read More

  • Luncheon On The Grass: Art Comparison

    1505 Words  | 4 Pages

    The difference is that one is considered a goddess and the other is known to be a prostitute. The goddess is depicted with a chunky body and the prostitute's body has a sensual nature. She is lying on an oriental stole on a couch. She is wearing pearl earrings, a choker around her neck, and a bracelet on her arm, a flower in her hair and the kind of shoes she has on confirms the idea that she is a lady of the night life, along with the black cat that symbolizes that she is a prostitute. Another difference is that there's a maid standing right next to her fully dressed. as if to make you more aware of her nudity. She is holding flowers and has a blank look on her face. The public or the critics could not accept or understand why he would replace a goddess with a prostitute. Also it was not the nudity that appalled people; this was common and had been for centuries but only in a different perspective. The viewers were scandalized by the brazen look on her face. It had more of a bold challenging look. The painting made a bold stand and was too much to accept. The people were so upset by it that the administration had to take extra safety measures to keep the

    Read More

  • Barbie Annotated Bibliography

    1214 Words  | 3 Pages

    It offers and understanding that women were held at a different standard then than they are now. This figurine shows that women had a larger mid-section but was because they either needed the body fat for long, cold winters or the better idea was because it showed they were fertile and they were able to produce babies and keep the legacy going on. It also provides a better image of what the men and women had to go through in order to survive, like the long hard winters, the needing to hunt for food and could mean sometimes not having food. Venus of Willendorf was not considered an obese women, “where features of fatness and fertility would have been highly desirable”, (PBS, 2006). I can use this article because it explains the whole point about a women’s image. Women were not looked at how skinny and “good looking” they were in a pair of jeans. Women, in this time, were looked at as if they can be fertile or not. Being able to have children was a huge thing in this time since it was one of the point of living, to have a

    Read More

  • Andrew Stewart and the Meaning Behind the Two Pieces, Doryphoros (Spearbearer) and Aphrodite of Knidos

    1230 Words  | 3 Pages

    The author talks about the meaning behind the two pieces, Doryphoros (Spearbearer) and Aphrodite of Knidos. He begins by going into the basic history of what men and women at the time were expected to do during their short lived lives. He paired these two pieces because of the masculinity and femininity that divides and unites the two classical Greek sculptures. Stewart talks about genders and the gender roles that were expected of men and women at the time the artwork was made in ancient Greece. Both pieces are linked to power and vulnerability. The author goes into full detail throughout his research, giving background, reasoning, and explanation between the importance of the pieces, linking them to the important of idealized perfection.

    Read More

  • Golden Ass

    1126 Words  | 3 Pages

    From the very start we see Apuleius using references to Roman myths as similes to everyday occurrences. When Fotis, the slave, enters his bedroom to make love to him, he remarks that "she stood, transformed into a living statue: the Love-goddess rising from the sea. The flushed hand with which she pretended to screen her mount of Venus showed that she was well aware of the resemblance; certainly it was not held there from modesty." He describes a slave girl trying to seduce him as Venus rising out of the sea. Some of this description may be a hyperbole for Lucius' love of Fotis. However, Apuleius goes beyond this by linking Fotis directly to Venus. Thus, the most beautiful goddess in the Pantheon is easily seen in a slave girl. Similarly, Thelyphron, when telling the story how members of a household attacked him, describes himself as feeling "like Adonis mauled by the wild boar, or Orpheus torn in pieces by the Thracian women." This...

    Read More

  • Birth Of Venus Compare And Contrast Essay

    479 Words  | 1 Pages

    Both Goddesses stand nude, slightly covering their genitalia; It’s as if Botticelli took on the modest look Praxiteles put forth. The only difference in the modesty shown is Venus’ long flowing locks some how managed to cover her slight indecent moment in time. Both men set forth a type of admiration for the women pictured in their pieces considering they gave them some kind of covering. When looking at the goddess’s facial expressions, we can see a very apparent deviance in their half smiles, as if they were caught. The Aphrodite represents a quite symmetrical body with even the softest features easily recognizable but, Botticelli was quite close to mimicking such. The Venus’ elongated neck with shoulders slightly sloped still can be compared to the soft features of Aphrodite. Aside from the standing contrapposto, the softness featured in both pieces is what simply draws them

    Read More

  • Antonine Woman as Venus

    788 Words  | 2 Pages

    It is determined the Antonine Woman as Venus is a woman of aristocratic status. The portrait is made of fine-grain marble, a medium only upper-class persons could afford. Also, only persons of wealth could afford to have such a protrait made. The woman is portrayed as Venus, a goddess who is connected to the imperial family, and members of a royal family would often have themselves depicted as a deity. (De Puma 26) We know she is being portrayed as Venus because of her bare breast and the upper-arm ring. The bare breast is a key to Venus because she is the goddess of sexuality and desirability. The upper arm ring can be an attribute of Venus as the Statue of Aphrodite (Venus) by Praxiletels displays the same jewelry on a nude body. (Fantham 175)

    Read More

  • A Feminist Reading of Paul's Case

    1201 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...t the Venus of Milo as he passed her on the stairway." Paul may have had probable cause to dislike his teacher, however, the statue had done nothing to provoke him aside from being female. The distasteful gesture he made towards the statue embodies his attitude towards the entire female gender.

    Read More

  • The Endoios Athena: Athena Seated

    2191 Words  | 5 Pages

    On the Acropolis of Athens, there are a large number of votive images dedicated to Athena the city goddess in various medium, including marble, terracotta, bronze, relief and vase painting. Among these votive images of Athena, most of them are represented in a standing pose, either frontally facing the viewers or showing her profile (e.g. the bronze Athena Promachos (figure 1)); some of them are captured in the middle of an action (e.g. Athena in Gigantomachy on the pediment of the Parthenon (fg. 2)). However, the so-called Endoios Athena is a statue of Athena represented in a seated position. Although the seated position is not rare in reliefs, such as Athena on the East frieze (fg. 3) and on the metopes of the Parthenon (fg. 3), the so-called Endoios Athena is the only seated marble statue of Athena on the Acropolis in the history. (Mylonopoulos, The Acropolis of Athens in the 6th and 5th Century BCE, Lecture Notes at Columbia University, March 31)

    Read More

  • The Birth of Venus

    852 Words  | 2 Pages

    Venus in Botticelli's painting is a Renaissance beauty. During the Renaissance women were believed to look more attractive if they had some weight to them. It was believed that this weight make them more prepared for child birth, and basically healthier. Venus has weight in the painting. Without this weight I do not feel that she would have such a strong impact on her viewers. Another strong point of Venus's presence is her wonderful long and flowing red-orange hair. It flows around her body keeping her pose modest, yet revealing. In all of this beauty it can be easy to overlook the unnatural length of Venus's neck, and the steep fall of her shoulders. Venus's outline is wonderfully graceful, and it is the grace that makes the print so wholesome and beautiful. If Botticelli would have chosen a slimmer or less natural Venus the harmony of the picture would have been destroyed.

    Read More

  • From Aphrodite Of Knidos To The Old Market Woman

    704 Words  | 2 Pages

    To conclude, both sculptures do not have much in common, but it is obvious that the artists had knowledge in human anatomy and was able to sculpt them spectacularly. It is also obvious the break from somewhat idealistic to realistic human nature. The change is so drastic that one might not believe that both sculptures come from the same Greece because it is so well-known for its astonishing artworks found in temples, building, etc.

    Read More

  • The Vigil Of Venus Analysis

    674 Words  | 2 Pages

    Venus, the “mother” of the Roman people, might view this as end to an era, yet sees possibilities of a new beginning. When this poem is read with this in mind, one can see the possibilities of this explanation. She seems to mourn what is to come and states, “And her life’s one wedlock show her flushed with the beauty no man saw,” (643) She reflects bewilderment at the absence of recognition in the charm and beauty of Rome. Her love for Rome is legitimate, and is proven with this poem, she hopes for love, and looks forward to possible peace.

    Read More

  • Relative Points and Insights Relating to Sculpture of the Paleolithic Era

    1027 Words  | 3 Pages

    Given the accuracy of the representation of the anatomy depicted in the Venus of Willendorf, that is the way the breasts hang and the way the “fat” sags at the knees, it is very possible the image was actually made after a real person (Witcombe, sec. 4) lending credence to the belief the figurine was carved to symbolize a woman of importance. If made after a real person, that female must have had considerable significance within her community to have grown so corpulent which supports the idea of matriarchal society (Witcombe, sec. 4). Witcombe further speculates that these statuettes may have served as a representation of the Mother Goddess, also referred to as Earth Mother and that the deity may have been represented in the form of a leader or matriarch.

    Read More

  • Symbolism In The Birth Of Venus By Sandro Botticelli

    842 Words  | 2 Pages

    Botticelli depicts Venus standing a relaxing pose with long golden wavy hair that falls to her knees skin blemish free and pale as the seafoam she’s born from with one hand (right) gently placed over her right breast she uses the other (left) grasping for

    Read More

  • The History of Art

    4145 Words  | 9 Pages

    The form does take on specific significance when viewed in the context of history and culture. The Venus of Willendorf is the earliest officially dated sculpture know to the modern western world yet she is...

    Read More

More about Venus Of Willendorf Vs Venus De Milo Essay

Open Document