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Statue of the Aphrodite of Knidos

White and beige stone statue of a female nude standing in contrapposto position, with weight on the right leg. The head of the statue is missing. The left arm has been broken off just past the shoulder, and the left hand is also absent.
CC0 Public Domain Designation

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  • White and beige stone statue of a female nude standing in contrapposto position, with weight on the right leg. The head of the statue is missing. The left arm has been broken off just past the shoulder, and the left hand is also absent.

Date:

2nd century

Artist:

Roman

About this artwork

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

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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