FIA 102: Paper Assignment Kaitlyn Vanhoose Professor Stacie Kitchen November 4, 2015
Kaitlyn Vanhoose
Professor Stacie Kitchen
Art History
24 November 2015
Despite being made for two widely different cultures, The Venus of Willendorf and the Aphrodite of Syracuse have similar functions and characteristics.
Venus of willendorf was founded in 1908 by archaeologist Josef Szombathy in Aurignacian loess deposit near the town of Willendorf in Austria and is now in the Naturhistorisches Museum, Vienna. Venus is carved by oolitic limestone, carved by which may have been flintstones. Since she is both female and nude, she fitted perfectly into the patriarchal construction of…show more content… She is an impersonal composition of sexually- charged swollen shapes; an embodiment of overflowing fertility; according to (www.asu.edu/willendorf_portfolio.htm).” The sculpture is of a naked, obese woman with no feet. The knees are slightly tilted outwards, the shoulders are narrow, and the thin arms and hands decorated with etched circles rest on the heavy breasts.. The head is slightly tilted forward that the hair lies in parallel locks; the figure has no face. There are marked folds of fat under the arms and on the butt, originally thickened with red paint” (www.projectvenus.eu/index.php?option.com). Archaeologists have suggested many different ways of understanding its significance. The first suggestion is that the figure is used as a symbol for fertility. Apart from being female, the figure has large breasts, probably serving as a representation of procreativity, and the red pigment covering it has been thoughts symbolize as menstrual blood seen as a life giving agent; stated on www.thenagain.info/webchron/world/willendorf.html. There is no facial…show more content… Including Aphrodite has a face and Venus of Willendorf depicts a faceless woman. Venus also has large legs, stomach and breasts, and her body is extremely rounded with little to no definition. While on the other hand Aphrodite has feet, with toes. Her body is proportional, rather than Venus’ unproportional body parts. Venus is a small sculpture, made for transportation purposes. Aphrodite is a rather large sculpture used for show in one place, rather than a lot. Aphrodite is made mostly out of stone, Venus is made out of yellow limestone. Venus is completely nude, while Aphrodite is partially covered with cloth. Aphrodite is way more idealized, showing bodily