The Venus of Willendorf, to me, was an interesting sculpture. Not only because of the originality behind it, but also the name. Both aspects of this sculpture hit on a few interesting topics to think about: First is the way the female form is portrayed in this sculpture and the questions that arise from that, secondly is the name and the meaning behind it, and lastly, I ask, does this statue represent beauty?
How the female form is portrayed is very different than what we are used to seeing. These days, usually, obese women are not what we see when learning about the female form. The women we see are of average size if not an abnormally skinny size. Whether this sculpture was a realistic form of woman back in the day or it is an exaggeration it causes us to think about why The Venus of Willendorf was sculpted the way it was. When the article talks about how women may have played a more important role in society, possibly a more dominate role, this sculpture seems to portray more power behind it rather than just a woman. I think this is why she was represented as slightly larger, to represent power over males.
Second I would like to talk about the name of this sculpture (The Venus of Willendorf). The word Venus, when referring to a name, means The Goddess of love and beauty. So would that mean that this is an image of beauty for their time? Or is it irony? I found it interesting that when they mention other ‘Venus’ sculptures they also mention that these women are covering their privates. The Venus of Willendorf dose not cover herself. Her arms come above her breasts as if to rest on them. Her stomach hangs down, but does not cover her genitals. She stands proud of her form as if this was the form of beauty for their time. The only thing that is kept secret about this statue is her face. I believe this is because they believe her to be the Earth Mother, whose face not only cannot be seen, but also must not be seen. What I found interesting was that some people looked at this statue as a form of pornography which some believed took away from its beauty, because it was seen as more promiscuous. It would take away from her beauty.
Lastly, beauty becomes a question. Beauty has been a term that has changed so often through the generations. Beauty generally means the combination of shape, form, and color of an object that comes together to please the eye. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder (cliché I know). Beauty to me is an image that stops you in your tracks and makes you appreciate what you are seeing. To some The Venus of Willendorf is a beautiful piece that makes us stop and appreciate the female form in a different perspective than what we are use to.
In the end it’s all about perspective. It’s what we think the name means and if this statue truly represents the Goddess of love and beauty. We must ask ourselves what we think beauty is and what, to us, portrays this. The Venus of Willendorf will always bring an interesting discussion to the table.
