Venus Pudica (“Modest Venus” or “Venus of Modesty”[1]) is a classical stance from classical antiquity where a nude female raises her right hand in an attempt to conceal her breast while her left hand tries to hide her pubic area.[2]
Origin edit
The type derives from the Aphrodite of Knidos by Praxiteles.[3] Goffen wrote: "Supposedly surprised by a worshiper as she steps from her bath- the statue apparently set in a pool for water - the goddess conceals herself as best as she can, placing one arm across her breast and the other over her pudenda: She is literally modest or ashamed (pudica) but provocative at the same time."[4]
Analysis edit
Nigel Spivey argues that when making the Aphrodite of Knidos, her iconography can be attributed to Praxiteles creating the statue for the intent of being viewed by male onlookers.[5] Others critics have also pointed that [6]
Examples edit
Notes edit
- ^ Clark, 86
- ^ "Modest Venus (Venus Pudica)". Walters Art Museum. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
- ^ Goffen, 73–74
- ^ Goffen, 74
- ^ Spivey, Nigel (2013). "8. Revealing Aphrodite". Greek Sculpture. Cambridge University Press. p. 181. doi:10.1017/9780521760317.010. ISBN 9781316179628. S2CID 239158305.
- ^ Morris, Ian (1994). Classical Greece: Ancient Histories and Modern Archaeologies. Cambridge University Press. p. 84. ISBN 9780521456784.
References edit
- Goffen, Rona, Titian's "Venus of Urbino", 1997.
- Clark, Kenneth, The Nude, A Study in Ideal Form, orig. 1949, various edns, page refs from Pelican edn of 1960
[[ Category:Sculptures of Venus ]]