The "Capitoline Venus" on Display at National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

The lady doesn't get around much.  I'm happy to see the particular artist who did this copy (of a now lost orignal by Praxiteles, called the Aphrodite of Cnidus) used a middle-aged woman for his model.  No 90 pound weakling, this lady! 

From artdaily.org
Statue Leaves Italy for the First Time Since 1816 for Exhibition at the National Gallery of Art
June 5, 2011

The Capitoline Venus from the Capitoline Museums.

WASHINGTON (AP).- One of the best preserved sculptures from Roman antiquity, the "Capitoline Venus," has left Italy for the first time in nearly 200 years for a special display at the National Gallery of Art.

The installation goes on public view Saturday through early September, the museum announced Thursday. The full-scale female nude statue has only left Rome one other time: when it was seized by Napoleon and taken to France in 1797. It was returned to Rome's Capitoline Museum in 1816 after Napoleon fell from power.

Gallery Director Earl A. Powell III called it a "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity" to see the piece in the United States. It will have a prime spot as a museum centerpiece for the busy summer months.

"The 'Venus' will feel right at home in our West Building Rotunda, which was designed by John Russell Pope and was based on the Pantheon in Rome," Powell said in a written statement.

The sculpture is a descendent from the "Aphrodite of Cnidos" by Greek sculptor Praxiteles around 360 B.C. That sculpture was groundbreaking in art history for its introduction of the large-scale nude female form as a subject.

The statue was unearthed in the 1670s in a garden in the remains of an ancient building, according to historical accounts. The statue was intact, except for the nose, some fingers and a hand that had broken off. It was later reattached. Pope Benedict XIV gave the sculpture to the Capitoline Museum in 1752.

This is the first time it has been lent for exhibition.

The exhibit is part of an effort by Rome Mayor Gianni Alemanno to display masterpieces in the United States between 2011 and 2013. It also marks the 150th anniversary of Italy's unification as a single state.

Next week, Washington Mayor Vincent Gray plans to sign a proclamation announcing a new sister city agreement with Alemanno.

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According to Wikipedia, the lady is "The Modest Venus."  Bwwwwwaaaaaaahhhhhaaaaaaa!  Yeah, so she's covering her vulva with her hand and "beginning" to cover her breasts with her other hand and arm.  So why didn't she just grab the towel/cloth conveniently laid across the top of the bathing jug right next to her heh?  Modest, my patootey.  Her strategically placed hands draw attention to her feminine attributes rather than disguising them!  Duh! 

I'm more inclined to Barbara G. Walker's interpretation in her Encyclopedia under the listing Pudens and Pudenziana, Saints:

Naive Christian canonization of the symbolic genitalia of Rome's God and Goddess (pudenda).  According to the Christian legend, Pudenziana was the usual virgin convert, a daughter of Pudens, a wealthy patrician.  Peter and Paul lodged in the house of Pudenziana on their (mythical) visit to Rome.  With the help of a holy man named Pastorus (Shepherd), St. Pudenziana soaked up the blood of Christian martyrs in sponges, which she hiod in a well.(1)  The tale was often cited to account for te numerous bottles of martyrs' blood used as healing relics in countless churches.

The well with its holy blood probably meant the yonic "pit" (puteus) in the Forum, where the spirits of blessed ancestors dwelt.  The Shephered Pastorus was a form of the Pyschopomp or Conductor of Souls, sometimes called Shepherd of the Stars.

Notes:

(1)  Brewster, 250-51. 
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Once again I found some absolutely fascinating information at Wikipedia:  The Church of St. Pudenziana is the oldest in Rome.  It was originally built over a 2nd century CE residence and was used as a residence by the early popes.

Get this:  The Peter chapel, on the left side of the apse, contains a part of the table at which Saint Peter would have held the celebration of the Eucharist in the house of Saint Pudens.

Bwwwwwwwaaaaahhhhhhaaaaaaa!  Okay, so I'm pagan jerk for laughing at this, but it's just so damn funny!  Here's the corker - this quote from the late "Roman" 4th century mosaic from inside the "church":  Dominus conservator ecclesiae Pudentianae.

This is translated, according to Wikipedia as:  The Lord is the preserver of the church of Pudenziana.

Hmmmmm, how about this translation:  The Lord keeps Pudens in her sacred house.  In other words, he's a pimp and she's his ho. Not just any ho though, no no no.  She's a sacred ho, ha ha ha.  Ho ho ho.  She got the Ultimate Big Ho in the Ground (hint: the well).  Ho Ho Ho.  Well, I thought it was funny...


This version of Pudenziana had a sister, also a saint -- St. Praxedix or Praxedes, rather than the Shepherd Pastorus referenced in Walker's information on St. Pudenziana.  I was struck by the irony - how similar Praxides sounds to Praxiteles, the sculptor of the Aphrodite of Cnidus, who started this whole post.

And the wheels go round and round...

Aphrodite Image Upsets Some - Diplomats!

Oh for goddess' sake - this political correctness stuff is getting ridiculous.  You can be sure that Muslims and anyone else who might be "offended" by a passport that contains an image of a priceless work of art aren't concerned, in their turn, about offending westerners with their views, practices and beliefs.

From Reuters as reported at Yahoo News
Goddess of Love emerges into foaming Cypriot row
– Thu Dec 23, 6:13 am ET


This lovely Aphrodite is called the
Aphrodite of Rhodes and is housed
in the Archaeological Museum of Rhodes.
She is depicted as wringing the sea water
out of her hair on the beach after her
birth from the foam of the waves.

 NICOSIA (Reuters Life!) – She may be the ancient Greek Goddess of Love, but a picture of a nude Aphrodite on the new passport of Cyprus has set more than hearts racing.

Cypriot diplomats are furious with the interior ministry for failing to consult with the foreign ministry before issuing passports with a depiction of a naked immortal that might offend conservative foreign cultures.

"They are worried that civilians and diplomats could get into trouble, particularly traveling to very conservative Islamic countries," the authoritative Phileleftheros daily newspaper wrote on Thursday.

The interior ministry said it was too late to change them, the newspaper said.

Local legend says Aphrodite (also known as Venus to the ancient Romans) emerged from the sea on a crest of foam just off the Mediterranean island.

The image on the new biometric passports is modeled on a Greek marble statue of a completely naked Aphrodite in the Cyprus Museum located in the capital Nicosia.

(Writing by Michele Kambas, editing by Paul Casciato)

Engraved Pigments Point to Ancient Symbol Tradition

Hello Ece, are you reading this? This one is just for you. Story from Sciencenews.org Engraved pigments point to ancient symbolic tradition Incisions on ochre from a South African cave suggest modern human behavior emerged around 100,000 years ago (Image: Geometric patterns incised on pieces of ancient pigment, such as these 100,000-year-old finds, may reveal the surprisingly ancient origins of modern human behavior.Credit: Courtesy of C. Henshilwood and F. d’Errico) By Bruce Bower Web edition : 1:03 pm Scientists excavating a Stone Age cave on South Africa’s southern coast have followed a trail of engraved pigments to what they suspect are the ancient roots of modern human behavior. Analyses of 13 chunks of decorated red ochre (an iron oxide pigment) from Blombos Cave indicate that a cultural tradition of creating meaningful geometric designs stretched from around 100,000 to 75,000 years ago in southern Africa, say anthropologist Christopher Henshilwood of the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg and his colleagues. Their report appears online and in an upcoming Journal of Human Evolution. Much debate surrounds the issue of when and where language, religion, symbolic decorations and other facets of modern human behavior originated. Researchers such as Henshilwood hypothesize that modern human behavior developed gradually in Africa, beginning more than 100,000 years ago. Others posit that a brain-boosting genetic mutation around 50,000 years ago fostered modern behavior in Africa. Some researchers suspect that behavioral advances first appeared in Europe, Asia and Africa at that later time. Possible examples of symbolic behavior from around 100,000 years ago — such as proposed human burials in the Middle East and pigment use in Africa — have been controversial. "What makes the Blombos engravings different is that some of them appear to represent a deliberate will to produce a complex abstract design," Henshilwood says. “We have not before seen well-dated and unambiguous traces of this kind of behavior at 100,000 years ago.” Further studies need to confirm that the ancient incisions were not the result of, say, slicing into ochre with stone tools in order to remove powder quickly, cautions anthropologist Curtis Marean of Arizona State University in Tempe, who studies ancient human behavior at another South African cave (SN: 10/20/07, p. 243). [Anyone looking at the patterns scored into the small pigment stones would probably conclude otherwise. One would not have to score a specific geometric pattern into a pigment stone in order to remove colored pigment to mix paint. Any way of pulverizing pigment off the stone would do, including just making gouges. This is just common sense.] Even if the Blombos pigments contain intentional designs, fully modern human behavior — such as the use of figurative art (SN: 6/20/09, p. 11) — didn’t emerge until tens of thousands of years later, contends archaeologist Nicholas Conard of the University of Tuebingen, Germany. [Hmmm, could this contention possibly have anything to do with the fact that, for instance, the Willendorf Venus was found in Germany, and dates to c. 35,000 years ago?] Henshilwood and study coauthor Francesco d’Errico of the University of Bordeaux I in Talence, France, disagree. In their view, the Blombos pigments bear intentionally fashioned designs that held some sort of meaning and were passed down the generations for 25,000 years. Thus, the two researchers say, it’s likely that a 100,000-year-old society already steeped in symbolic behavior originally produced the ochre engravings. In 2002, Henshilwood’s team described evidence of symbolic engravings on two other ochre pieces from Blombos Cave. Those 77,000-year-old finds were excavated in 1999 and 2000. Engraved chunks of pigment in the new analysis were unearthed during the same excavations. Specimens came from either of three sediment levels with estimated ages of 72,000 years, 77,000 years and 100,000 years. A microscopic analysis indicates that ochre designs were made by holding a piece of pigment with one hand while impressing lines into the pigment with the tip of a stone tool. On several pieces, patterns covered areas that had first been ground down. Geometric patterns on the ochre pieces include cross-hatched designs, branching lines, parallel lines and right angles. [See images at beginning of article]. Pigment powder had also been removed from many of the recovered ochre chunks. Incised patterns may have served as models for pigment designs applied to animal skins or other material, the scientists speculate. Excavations of Blombos Cave sediment from before 100,000 years ago have begun. “The discovery of more, and perhaps even more striking, engravings is very possible,” Henshilwood says. [That remains to be seen...]

The Goddess Anahita

Related to some information contained in the post below, about the traditional (i.e., pre-Islamic) Persian celebration of the New Year. From Barbara Walker's "The Woman's Encyclopedia of Myths and Secrets:"

Anahid
This and its variations Anahita and Anitis were the Persian and Armenian names for Venus, the star of Ishtar and Astarte, Mother Goddess of the Zend-Avesta; ruler of waters, stars, and Fate. The Mithraic Mysteries, though strongly male-oriented, retained Anahita as the necessary female principle of creation.(1)

Notes:
(1) Cumont, M.M., 180.

Antonio Canova's white goddess

“Conquering Venus” is the centrepiece of an exhibit of work by the sculptor who transcended time. From Wanted in Rome By Edith Schloss December 5, 2007 A gleaming white marble figure, elegantly reclining on a marble cushion, has always been the centrepiece, the icon, of the Villa Borghese museum, a treasure trove that is rivaled only by the Medici collection in the Uffizi gallery in Florence and the enormous hoard of the tsars in the Hermitage of St Petersburg. The Borghese princes from Siena who settled in Rome in one of its most perfect villas in the early 17th century, brought together not only a vast assembly of Roman and Greek sculpture, which had recently been dug up in the city, but also Renaissance works and pieces from their own time. The exquisite building became the private showcase for the delectation of informed visitors through the ages. In 1902, when the Italian government acquired it, it was opened to the general public. It was in 1804 that prince Camillo Borghese commissioned the most celebrated sculptor of the period to begin a sculpture of his new wife. She was not an aristocrat like himself, but the sister of a conqueror. She was Pauline Bonaparte. The sculptor was Antonio Canova, a brave worker devoted to his craft, famed for his fabulous final touch, believed to make cold stone come alive. Canova (1757-1822) was born in Possagno in the Veneto, the offspring of several generations of stonecutters. When the Venetian senator Giovanni Falier observed him in his grandfather’s marble yard he recognized his talent. He brought him to Venice to study at the academy and became his patron. In his early works Canova still followed the contortions of the Baroque, recently enhanced by the sagesse of Gian Lorenzo Bernini. Eventually, like other young artists dazzled by the new finds of ancient art discovered in Pompei, he tried to seize classical values, to turn them into a new palatable style, exactly fashioned to the requirements of his own period – neo-classicism. Timeliness is something ineffable. In Canova, the bland faces of his adolescent models, the icy planes of their over-studied poses, his display of ardent craftsmanship, his terrible smoothness, make you shiver. We have trouble with any period style running counter to our own. The “Conquering Venus”, the pearl of Canova’s output, celebrating its 200th birthday, is not easy to face for the modern visitor at first. Nor are all the amorini, nymphs and gods who have been travelling from the finest museums all over the world to join her. Against the splendour of the background of the regular Borghese collection, the Raphaels, Titians, Correggios, Caravaggios, Berninis etc, they are beautifully and clearly displayed, in a state-of-the-art manner. We look at a “Venus” standing, an “Apollo”, a “Terpsichore”, an “Endymion”, “Amor and Psyche” cherishing a little butterfly of marble, bare little boys and big girls, portraits of matrons. All of them, naiads and nymphs and gods from lost Arcadia, are life-size, have long lines of legs, high bosoms and long curved bottoms and dainty fingers. Their precise heads are very small. Now look at the “Three Graces”, made between 1812 and 1814 after a painting of Raphael, for Tsar Alexander I, who took it to St Petersburg. (A second version was commissioned by the Duke of Bedford and now graces the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.) It is a group of three bodies hewn from one great square block of Carrara marble. A composition of limbs is scooped out from a solid. There is an interstice, a void, in the middle, around which a concentration of shapes must weave a fake fluidity. This is a very complex thing: not something built up, but something cut down. It is a balancing of closed with empty space, made according to an exact plan, according to imaginative insight. From a spatial idea, a concept, Canova proceeded to create a clear structural definition. You might regard him as a conceptual artist. When you look through the outer old-style timeliness, you find an astute inventive artist, clear-sighted and tough. It is exhilarating when you understand the drama created by a lump of stone, transcending time. Canova said: “Terracotta is life. Plaster is death. Marble is resurrection.” His terracotta maquettes, of a penitent “Magdalen”, a sitting “Madam Mère” – Napoleon’s deeply influential mother – a superbly swift embrace of “Amor and Psyche”, also make him amiable. The paintings and drawings are a bit clumsy, touchingly uncertain, as if, used to fighting the bitter resistance of stubborn stone, Canova found mere marks on canvas or paper too little to worry about. In the end, the “Conquering Venus”, the sculpture which is elevating Paulette, the vixen from Corsica, is a grandiose abstraction, a willful distillation of life. In real life she was brown, rosy, capricious, a flirt to the end. Not the least bit bothered having to pose naked and exhibit herself, she lies as if purring under the scrutiny of the pensive artist, proudly holding and beholding the apple of Paris, her triumph, in her slender fingers. Here she is exalted. Here she lies in gentle transport, her elegant legs crossed, tender bosom high, lips slightly open in her chiseled profile – chaste and idealized – the white goddess. A fine stone made civilizing beauty. Canova e la Venere Vincitrice. Until 3 Feb 2008. Galleria Borghese, Piazzale Scipione Borghese 5, tel. 068413979. 09.00-19.00. Mon closed. Booking compulsory