Venus Of Willendorf Analysis

Comparing and Contrasting the Venus of Willendorf and the Venus de Milo When you hear the word Venus, the majority of people envision the big, hot, volcanic planet in outer space, consequently, to artists Venus inspires a very different image. In Greek mythology, Aphrodite, the Goddess of love, beauty, sex and fertility, their Roman counterparts however, referred to this Goddess as Venus. It is believed that Aphrodite is portrayed in the Venus de Milo sculpture.
Whereas, the Venus of Willendorf was originally referred to as a "Venus" in a joking manner, the term stuck. The Venus of Willendorf is small a statue, of a rather large female body, the statue is estimated to be dated between 28,000-25,000 BCE, placing this piece in the Paleolithic

Lesser popular beliefs are that the doll was used as a visual masturbation aid for male hunters while they were away from home. Both theories have been argued, moreover, the prevailing thought is that it was used as a ritualistic fertility doll. Renowned Archaeologist Nicholas Conard believes the favored side of it being used as a fertility doll. Conard, spoke about the Venus of Hohle Fels figurine, an older figure that shares a striking resemblance with the Venus of Willendorf, Conard states that "This is an extremely powerful depiction of the essence of being female"C1 implying that the doll is not used for a male 's pornographic fantasy, but rather that the doll depicts the desire had by a woman for wanting to have a child. Paleolithic Art The "Old Stone Age" contained not only some of earliest artistic impressions, but often these pieces illustrated what human life was like this era. Carvings and paintings found in caves have been dated to almost 40,000 years, these paintings were often animals such as Horses, Pigs, Bison and Bulls. A lot of cave paintings

The color was also used vividly throughout almost all works in caves, many shades of red were used and blended with different liquids and painted onto different colored portions of rock in the caves. Texture was also key because rock and rock-like materials were the only things which were painted upon. The Venus of Willendorf shares some similarities with the cave drawings of the early Stone Age, Color and Texture being the biggest two. The colors on the Venus of Willendorf share that similar Red Ochre which was often used in cave paintings, and almost all works of art from this era, and the Texture being Oolithic Limestone also a rock type mineral like the caves in which were painted. Where these two differ is that the Venus of Willendorf is a Sculpture, a three-dimensional piece, not a two-dimensional painting. The Form of the Willendorf is truly important because it dictates what this statue means to most, being that the Breasts and Reproductive areas of the woman 's body are excessively enlarged to symbolize a pregnant woman. The Venus De Milo Known for being one of the most famous pieces of Greek art, The Venus De Milo is a life-sized marble sculpture of a woman with her lower half concealed by the drapery, this woman is believed by many to be Aphrodite the Greek Goddess of Love and