Fragment of a Statue of Venus
1st-2nd century
Medium
Marble
Dimensions
68 × 33 × 20 cm (26 3/4 × 13 × 7 7/8 in.)
Classification
marble
Department
Arts of Greece, Rome, and Byzantium
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
40164
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
This fragmentary statue depicts Venus (the Greek Aphrodite), goddess of love, sexuality, and fertility, wearing a sheer garment that clings to her curves and highlights the source of her power. The form is likely based on an earlier Greek bronze statue of Aphrodite created by the sculptor Kallimachos in the fifth century BCE. Similar depictions were popular throughout the Roman imperial period, when Venus was viewed as the divine mother of the imperial family and the Roman people as a whole.
About the Artist
Ancient Roman
The artists attributed to "Ancient Roman" in museum collections represent the anonymous craftsmen who produced the vast output of sculpture, frescoes, mosaics, and reliefs defining Roman visual culture from the Republic (c. 509–27 BCE) to the late Empire (c. 395 CE). Individual identities remain elusive, as Roman makers were typically viewed as skilled tradesmen—often enslaved Greeks or provincial...