Statue of the Aphrodite of Knidos

2nd century

Roman

This statue was inspired by the most famous Greek sculpture of a goddess, the Aphrodite of Knidos. Carved by the sculptor Praxiteles in the 4th century B.C. from fine marble, it enjoyed great renown as the first devotional statue of a female goddess in the nude. It produced an immediate sensation when it was installed in a sacred precinct on the island of Knidos, and, centuries later, it inspired Roman artists to re-create the celebrated image of the goddess. Although the earlier Greek sculpture no longer exists, Roman statues such as this inform us of its likely appearance. However, the function of these later Roman versions was fundamentally different from that of the earlier Greek work: what had once been an object of veneration among the Greeks became a favorite garden ornament for wealthy Romans. Adapted for such a use, the badly marred surface of the statue is the result of prolonged exposure to the elements.

Status: On View, Gallery 151
Department: Arts of the Ancient Mediterranean and Byzantium

Culture: Ancient Roman
Title: Statue of the Aphrodite of Knidos
Place: Roman Empire (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.: 101 CE–200 CE
Medium: Marble
Dimensions: 168 × 57.2 × 42 cm (66 1/8 × 22 1/2 × 16 1/2 in.)
Credit Line: Katherine K. Adler Memorial Fund
Reference Number: 1981.11
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/61600/manifest.json

Art Institute of Chicago, “Acquisitions,” Art Institute of Chicago Annual Report 1980–81 (Art Institute of Chicago, 1981), p. 49.
Art Institute of Chicago, “Departmental Reports,” Art Institute of Chicago Annual Report 1980–81 (Art Institute of Chicago, 1981), p. 14.
Art Institute of Chicago, “Report of the Director,” Art Institute of Chicago Annual Report 1980–81 (Art Institute of Chicago, 1981), p. 7, fig. 6.
Art Institute of Chicago, Pocketguide to the Art Institute of Chicago (Art Institute of Chicago, 1988), p. 9, fig. 12.
Cornelius C. Vermeule III, “Ancient Art at the Art Institute of Chicago.” Special issue, Art Institute of Chicago Museum Studies 20, no. 1 (1994), pp. 72–73, cat. 50 (ill.).
Karen Alexander, “The New Galleries of Ancient Art at the Art Institute of Chicago,” Minerva vol. 5, no. 3 (May/June, 1994), p. 33, fig. 11.
James Wood, Treasures from The Art Institute of Chicago (Chicago: Art Institute of Chicago; New York: Hudson Hills Press, 2000), p. 73 (ill.).
Domnica Radulescu, Sisters of Medea: The Tragic Heroine Across Cultures (New Orleans: University Press of the South, 2002), p. 4, fig. 1.
Karen B. Alexander, “From Plaster to Stone: Ancient Art at the Art Institute of Chicago,” in Karen Manchester, Recasting the Past: Collecting and Presenting Antiquities at the Art Institute of Chicago (Chicago: Art Institute of Chicago; New Haven: Yale University Press, 2012), pp. 32, 39, no. 134.
Katharine A. Raff, “Cat. 13 Statue of the Aphrodite of Knidos: Curatorial Entry,” in Roman Art at the Art Institute of Chicago (Art Institute of Chicago, 2016).
Rachel C. Sabino, with contributions by Lorenzo Lazzarini, “Cat. 13 Statue of the Aphrodite of Knidos: Technical Report,” in Roman Art at the Art Institute of Chicago (Art Institute of Chicago, 2016).

Art Institute of Chicago, Rotating Permanent Collection, Gallery 143, February 21, 1991-1992.
Art Institute of Chicago, Classical Art from the Permanent Collection, Feb. 1989–Feb. 17, 1990, no cat.
Art Institute of Chicago, Henry Crown Gallery (Allerton 200), 1981-1986.
The Art Institute of Chicago, Ancient Art Galleries, Gallery 156, April 20, 1994-February 6, 2012.
Art Institute of Chicago, Of Gods and Glamour: The Mary and Michael Jaharis Galleries of Greek, Roman, and Byzantine Art, Gallery 152, November 11, 2012 - present.

Said to have been in the collection of Count Stefan Tyszkiewicz (1894 - 1976), Landwarow, Lithuania before 1939 (see document in curatorial file); Bruce and Ingrid McAlpine, McAlpine Ancient Art, by 1981; sold to the Art Insitute of Chicago, February 1981.

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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.

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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.

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