Venus Rising
 Statuette of Aphrodite (Venus) |
 Venus Rising from the Sea (Venus Anadyomene) |
 Venus Rising from the Sea ('Venus Anadyomene') |
 Venus and Cupid |
 Drawing of a Statue of Venus with a Dolphin (The Medici Venus) |
 The Tub |
 The Birth of Venus |
![La Représentation [Representation]](http://www.nationalgalleries.org/media_collection/7/GMA%203546.jpg) La Représentation [Representation] |
 Bather Wringing her Hair |
 Venus Anadyomene (after Titian) |
Greek (Hellenistic)
Statuette of Aphrodite (Venus)
3rd century BCThe term 'Hellenistic' is applied to a period of ancient history starting after the death of Alexander the Great, in 323 BC. It is also used to describe a new style of art produced at roughly the same time. Earlier art tended to be a bit stiff and stylised, but over time it had become increasingly naturalistic. Nude statues of Aphrodite became particularly popular during the Hellenistic period. Many of these female nudes appear to have been made with a male viewer in mind and to provoke sexual desire. This erotic subtext may also lie behind this beautiful little ancient sculpture.
Venus
In ancient Roman myths, Venus was the goddess of love, beauty and fertility. The ancient Greeks called her Aphrodite. Venus was said to have been born fully grown in the sea and blown ashore - naked - on a scallop shell.
- Medium Bronze
- Size 26cm
- Location The British Museum, London
- Do they look like real women to you or not? What is it about them that makes you think this?
- What words can you think of to describe the women depicted in these art works?
- Which Venus do you find the most beautiful - and why?
- How do these art works compare to modern images of beautiful women?
- Who would you say has "goddess status" today, and why?
- Who do you think would have owned these works of art when they were made and where do you think they would have been displayed?
- How does the lack of eye contact with most of these Venuses make you feel when you look at them?
- Why do you think that artists such as Titian were so interested in ancient art and literature?
- Why do you think artists have chosen to portray female nudes so often in the past?
- How do the twentieth-century Venuses compare to the older ones?
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- © British Museum