Fragment of a Statue of Venus

Discussion

FROM THE ART INSTITUTE OF CHICAGO’S CATALOG

This fragmentary statue depicts Venus (the Greek Aphrodite), goddess of love, sexuality, and fertility, wearing a sheer garment that clings to her curves and highlights the source of her power. The form is likely based on an earlier Greek bronze statue of Aphrodite created by the sculptor Kallimachos in the fifth century BCE. Similar depictions were popular throughout the Roman imperial period, when Venus was viewed as the divine mother of the imperial family and the Roman people as a whole.

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