Essay #1c, Compare and Contrast-Mother Earth, Fertility, Love and More?

ESSAY #1c
 
COMPARE & CONTRAST – Mother Earth, Fertility, Love and More?

INSTRUCTIONS: Find and post the images of the artwork(s) mentioned in the Topic Essay Question.

QUESTION: Describe the functional purpose of the Venus of Willendorf and the Venus De Milo. How is their imagery similar? How is it different? Find a third Venus example to compare and contrast these two to and describe why you selected it.

Venus of Willendorf

Venus de Milo

the Mazarin Venus

PART ONE

SUMMARY: I gained a better understanding of the thought and reasoning that went behind creating the different Venus statues.

REASON:  The question was asked to create the thought process between the ages and to look at the difference and similarities.

PURPOSE:  I think we need to have a better understanding of how things can change and how they stay the same.  The figures might have evolved; however their meaning might still have similarities.

DIRECTION:  I tried to look at the art with new eyes.  I wanted to see if there was something that I had missed as I had looked at the statues/figures in the past.

IMPRESSIONS:  No matter what, there is always more you can learn.  I thought this would be a very difficult essay to write.  We had discussed the different statues and although they look different they in essence are the same.

PART TWO

ANSWER:

The Birth of Venus by William Adolphe Bouguereau 1879

Aphrodite (Venus), goddess of love, Daughter of Zeus and the water nymph Dione; alternatively, born of sea foam; wife of Hephaistos. (Art History, Marilyn Stokstad/Michael W. Cothren, Fourth Edition/volumn 1, 2011 Pearson Education, Inc., page 104)

The Venus of Willendorf most likely stands for fertility.  The swollen breast and the large belly with the wide hips could represent the female population of that culture were fertile.  The little statue might have been traded to other tribes to represent they were willing to come together to repopulate.   (Art History text, pages 6,7) The statue is from around 24,000 BCE.  She is small in size standing 4 3/8" and she is made of limestone. (Art History text, page 6)

The Venus de Milo is very statuesque.  She may be missing her arms; however you can sense the higher presence.   The Venus de Milo was "found on the island of Melos by French excavators in the early nineteenth century. (Art History text, page 156) She is styled in the fashion of the past artist.  "The dreamy gaze recalls Praziteles' work, and the figure has heavier proportions of High Classical sculpture, but the twisting stance and the strong projection of the knee are typical of Hellenistic art, as is the rich three-dimensionality of the drapery.  The juxtaposition of soft flesh and crisp drapery, seemingly in the process of slipping off the figure adds a note of erotic tension." (Art History text, page 156)  Venus de Milo also known as Aphrodite of Melos is housed in the Louvre in Paris.  She is from c. 150-100 BCE, she is marble, and stands 6' 8" tall. (Art History text, page 157)  She is also pictured in the textbook on this page.

The imagery of the two both shows the female form.  They both have an emphasis on the breast, although the Venus de Milo might have a bit more finesse to the shape, with no emphasis on modesty.  They are representations of fertility.  In both statues the hips appear to be able to bear children, and that would be another important factor in fertility.

For my third Venus, I found the Mazarin Venus.  Her form is very similar to the Venus de Milo.  Her stance is different.  I can see the shape and the statuesque shape to her to be very similar. 

  

"Venus, the goddess of love, stands nude, grasping a piece of cloth around her hips. The dolphin at her feet supports the figure and alludes to the goddess's birth from the sea. This depiction of Venus ultimately derived from an extremely popular Greek statue created by the sculptor Praxiteles about 350 B.C. Indeed Praxiteles' statue was so popular that, beginning around 100 B.C., many artists created variations on his theme of the naked Venus.

This statue is a Roman reproduction of one of those Hellenistic variants. In 1509 it was discovered in Rome, where it contributed to the Renaissance revival of the Classical tradition. Scholars once believed that this statue was owned by Cardinal Mazarin, advisor to Louis XIV, king of France. Although this is unlikely, the statue is still known to many as the Mazarin Venus.

During its long history, the statue has been heavily damaged. The breasts, as well as parts of the cloth, arms, and dolphin, are restored. The head probably belonged to another ancient statue. Marks on the back of the statue have been interpreted as gunshot wounds suffered during the French Revolution, although this story may be based more in romance than in fact." (http://www.getty.edu/art/gettyguide/artObjectDetails?artobj=7562)

"Around 350 BCE, Praxiteles created a daring statue of Aphrodite for the city of Knido in Asia Minor.  Although artists of the fifth century BCE had begun to hint boldly at the naked female body beneath tissue thin drapery, as in Nike Adjusting her Sandal, this Aphrodite was apparently the first statue by a well known Greek sculptor to depict a fully nude woman, and it set a new standard.  Although nudity among athletic young men was admired in Greek society, nudity among women was seen as a sign of low character.  The eventual wide acceptance of female nudes in large statuary may be related to the gradual merging of the Greeks' concept of their goddess Aphrodite with some of the characteristics of Phoenician goddess Astarte (the Babyloninan Ishatar), who was always shown nude in Near Eastern Art."  (Art History text, page 145) 

Culture diverted away from nude women.  Finally, the sculptures of women in their natural form were created and seemingly accepted.  All three of the sculptures celebrate women and their form.  The historians have taught us they are shown in this form as fertility.  Between all three I see curves and shape and definition.  The draping of the fabric is very similar on the second two Venus figures.  They are more refined as art had come a long way since the first had been created.  The Venus of Willendorf is basic; however it does have its own definition of form. 

  

I added a painting of the birth of Venus.  I thought it a fitting start to the essay.  She and the Venus de Milo do have the s curve to their stance.  The dolphin is in the painting the same as in the Mazarin Venus.  This is reinforcing the birth from the sea.  She is standing on a shell, as if she is rising up from the sea.  There are angels circling above and there are a couple of men blowing in conch shells in triumph of her birth.