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The paleolithic period essay
Paleolithic age lower middle upper
Essays on the paleolithic age
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Venus, what do you symbolize? Venus figurines were created during the upper Paleolithic period, ranging from 50,000 to 10,000 years ago. The famous Venus figurines are found all throughout Europe. These figurines have been carved by Stone Age sculptors many years ago. They sculpted these famous figurines with numerous materials like limestone, bone, ivory, wood, or clay. There are many styles of the famous Venus: Venus of Willendorf, Venus of Tan-Tan, Venus of Engen, and countless more. Each one made with its own unique style. Although Venus figurines are different from where they originated from they all share similarities: in size, the shape of their belly is wide and diamond-like, and they generally do not have feet, arms or facial detail. Many scholars don’t know that she stands for, but there are various theories for what they may stand for. …show more content…
The famous Venus figurines looks like they were created to resemble a women ready to take on a child. Caring a child must have been a blessing on a woman's family. Bringing on a new child into a family, helps expand their family. Having a larger family must have helped them survive against other groups and different animals. Adding a new child advised families get more done in hunting, gathering and learning about their surroundings.
Some scholars believe that she symbolizes fertility. The scholars believe that the Venus features are associated with a woman bearing a child. Venus figurines have very defined breasts, belly, and pubic areas; while her arms, legs, and face are hardly defined at all. Scholars believed that men were the creators of the Venus figurines because women were believed to be the only ones responsible for the creation of life, and men were obsessed with women and their
When reviewing examples of mothers in the text it is evident that part of the mother’s role is to have children to care for. “Gaia now first gave birth to starry Ouranos, her match in size to encompass all of her, and be the firm seat of all the blessed gods.” (126-128) Gaia is the first example of a mother seen in the
In Titian’s Venus of Urbino, the woman depicted appears to be the same one that features in another painting owned by the duke’s father, Titian’s La Bella, finished in 1536 (Figure 7). Also, the spaniel from the portrait of Francesco Maria’s wife (Figure 6), Eleonora Gonzaga, finished also in 1536, appears at the foot of the bed. Eleonora’s green tablecloth appears in the painting hung up behind the nude figure emphasizing the reds in the upholstery, the flowers, her blushing cheek, and her lips.
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.
The Primavera can be viewed as a depiction of Neoplatonism as Marsilio Ficino was “the spiritual mentor of Botticelli 's patron at the time the 'Primavera ' was painted”, and they discussed the Neoplatonic conception of the classical Gods in their correspondences (Gombrich 7). To Botticelli’s patron, who is most likely a member of the Medici family- and probably Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco- Venus would have represented Humanitas, embracing Love and Charity, Dignity and Magnanimity, Liberality and Magnificence, Comeliness and Modesty, Charm and Splendour. Thus, to Lorenzo, Venus did not represent ust (Gombrich 17). Given the popular Neoplatonism of the Italian Renaissance, and the speculation that the painting was commissioned by Lorenzo, it is therefore highly likely that Botticelli represented Neoplatonic love in his
The author of the Latin poem, The Vigil of Venus, remains a mystery, along with the date it was penned. Many have speculated who might have written this piece of poetry, but no one can be certain. It is assumed that it was written in early spring on the eve of the festival of Venus, and set it what might be Sicily. The writer is focused on the natural world, and seems motivated by love, spring, and hope of the renewal of both. Some believe this particular piece is seen through the eyes of Venus, known in Greek mythology as the mother of the Roman people. Critics might argue that this poem somehow suggests the imminent fall of the Roman Empire, and while I agree with this possible explanation, I could argue
Venus is a term that has long been associated with artwork, most specifically the classical forms of beautiful women. The term Venus has also come to represent female sculptures of the Paleolithic era. The most notable of these female sculptures is the Venus of Willendorf, 24,000-22,000 BCE. The age of the figurine has been changed several times. Originally when found the date was estimated to be 15,000 to 10,000 BCE. During the 1970’s the time period was adjusted to 25,000 to 20,000 BCE; the date was again recalculated in the 1980’s to 30,000 to 25,000 BCE; the most recent estimate of age was in the 1990’s and was placed at 24,000 to 22,000 BCE after scientific research was performed on the rock stratification. This statuette was discovered by Josef Szombathy in 1908 near the town of Willendorf, Austria, in an Aurignacian loess deposit, which loosely defined is a yellow brown loamy geological deposit dating to the Paleolithic period. The name Venus was first associated with the figurine as a joke. The small, crudely carved statuette of an obese woman contrasts heavily from the graceful classical forms of sculpture such as Aphrodite of Cnidos, Praxiteles, 350 BCE. Although it would be difficult to associate the word beautiful with this statuette, there can be no doubt that it reflects the female form. The statuette has also been known as “la poire” or “the pear” due to its size and shape and more recently was donned the Woman from Willendorf. The removal of the title Venus served to take away the figurine’s status of goddess and lower it to the human level, therefore allowing more consideration of the figurine’s purpose (Witcombe, sec. 3).
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
“This homage to the exaltation of a mortal gave great offense to the real Venus. Shaking her ambrosial locks with indignation, she exclaimed, "Am I then to be eclipsed in my honors by a mortal girl? In vain then did that royal shepherd, whose judgment was approved by Jove himself, give me the palm of beauty over my illustrious rivals, Pallas and Juno? But she shall not so quietly usurp my honors. I will give her cause to repent of so unlawful a beauty."(Apuleius1)
The planet Venus is an uninhabited planet, 109 million kilometers from the sun making it the second closest planet (“Planet Venus Facts”). Being also the sixth largest planet in our Solar System it measures 12,100 km in diameter, similar to that of Earth (“Planet Venus Facts”). Because of their similarities in size Earth and Venus are often called “twins” (Feather and Zike 77). Venus was first discovered by ancient astronomers because of its visibility to the naked eye, but they were unable to identify what it was (Cain). Because this was before recorded history, it is impossible to pinpoint exactly who first saw it in the sky (Cain). In 1610 it was confirmed by Galileo that Venus was, in fact, a planet, based on the grounds that it also experienced phases, just like our own moon (Cain).
This venus or goddess of love and beauty is carved onto limestone in high relief, which accentuates her curvaceous body and allows her to stand out from the background capturing your attention. It shows a simplistic yet in depth meaning to how the people viewed the women form in the time period. Her body is carved in a specific way that highlights her overweight and curvy figure, however detail is obscured from her face. Interestingly, there was evidence of red ochre located on the figure indicating that the ochre pigment was mixed with a binder and painted on the venus. Since the ochre was the color red it could have symbolized blood, love, or rebirth. As I said earlier, she appears to be a very curvaceous and a full figured women with large breasts, a chunky stomach stipulating that she is carrying a child, and explicit genitals. Her body emphasizes the woman figure and her large belly symbolizes what women were always meant to do, which is to carry and care for a child. In her right hand she holds a bison horn that is shaped like a crescent moon with thirteen vertical lines carved onto
The Mercury symbol dates back to ancient Greek mythology. Hermes (Mercury) and Aphrodite (Venus) had a child that possessed both male and female sexual organs. They named the child Hermaphroditus, which is where the term hermaphrodite originally came from. The Mercury symbol is made up of three parts: the crescent moon, the cross, and the ring. The crescent moon represents masculinity, while the cross represents the feminine and the ring stands for the individual surrounded by the struggle with gender. (forPLU)
Venus- Means the roman goddess of love and beauty. It is the second largest planet in the solar system and is also the second planet to the son, it is sometimes referred to as ‘The Earth’s sister’ because of their similar size
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
The central figure in the work is that of Venus, the Roman goddess of love and passion. She st...
One historical fact that Venus is known for is that it is the only planet in the solar system which is named after a woman, and still has meaning lodged behind its past. This woman was the Roman Goddess of Love and Beauty, Aphrodite. Resources have proved that the reason Venus was named after Aphrodite was because of Venus’ inspiring luminosity, which was both a mystery and a beauty to the ancient Romans. Another interesting fact based on ancient beliefs is that Venus was known to be both the Morning and Evening Star. This was because the planet could be viewed at both dawn and dusk. On the other hand, the Maya in Central America believed that Venus represented the God of War and that it displayed beams of evil light rays symbolizing death and destruction. Due to religious differences, official recordings probably did not take place as soon as it was discovered in the sky. This was most likely held off until accurate information was found on the mysterious planet. Despite the positive and negative ideas, Venus is a very unique planet and deserves to shine as bright as it does to this day.