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Fragment of a Statue of Venus

A fragment of a marble sculpture beginning at the hips and ending below the knee. The female figure wears a thin, draping fabric showing the outline of the body.
Public Domain

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  • A fragment of a marble sculpture beginning at the hips and ending below the knee. The female figure wears a thin, draping fabric showing the outline of the body.

Date:

1st-2nd century

Artist:

Roman

About this artwork

This type of female torso—which depicts Venus (the Greek Aphrodite) wearing a sheer, revealing garment—was frequently used in the Roman world to represent the goddess in her role as genetrix, or mother. The statue type, which is likely based on an earlier Greek bronze statue of Aphrodite created by the sculptor Kallimachos, became popular after Julius Caesar, who claimed the goddess as his ancestress, dedicated a version of this statue in a temple to Venus Genetrix. This statue type was also used in portraits of Roman empresses, who, in producing future emperors, likened themselves to Venus as mothers of the imperial line.

Status

On View, Gallery 150

Department

Arts of the Ancient Mediterranean and Byzantium

Culture

Ancient Roman

Title

Fragment of a Statue of Venus

Place

Italy (Object made in)

Date  Dates are not always precisely known, but the Art Institute strives to present this information as consistently and legibly as possible. Dates may be represented as a range that spans decades, centuries, dynasties, or periods and may include qualifiers such as c. (circa) or BCE.

1 CE–200 CE

Medium

Marble

Dimensions

68 × 33 × 20 cm (26 3/4 × 13 × 7 7/8 in.)

Credit Line

Museum Purchase Fund

Reference Number

1904.18

IIIF Manifest  The International Image Interoperability Framework (IIIF) represents a set of open standards that enables rich access to digital media from libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions around the world.

Learn more.

https://api.artic.edu/api/v1/artworks/40164/manifest.json

Extended information about this artwork

Object information is a work in progress and may be updated as new research findings emerge. To help improve this record, please email . Information about image downloads and licensing is available here.

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