Torso of Aphrodite, Roman copy of the Venus Genetrix type, 1st century CE

  • Greek
  • Roman

Marble

  • Overall: 58 × 25 × 17 1/4 inches (147.3 × 63.5 × 43.8 cm) Including base: 63 × 24 × 24 inches (160 × 61 × 61 cm)

Founders Society Purchase with funds from Cristina and Henry Ford II

74.53

On View

  • Ancient Greek and Roman, Level 2, South

Department

Greco-Roman and Ancient European

Toward the end of the fifth century BCE, a famous Greek statue of Aphrodite, the goddess of love, was created, probably to decorate a temple in Athens. It was such a popular image that it was later copied many times. The type became known throughout the Greco-Roman world and was associated with the Roman goddess Venus. In more complete examples, Aphrodite is shown holding the apple awarded her in the contest among goddesses when she was judged the most beautiful. Female nudity was not sanctioned in art until later in Greek history but artists discovered a way to reveal aspects of feminine grace. Aphrodite’s garments cling to her body, outline and emphasize contours, creating the illusion of female beauty at its most sensuous.

(Jeannette Brun)

1974-present, purchase by the Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit, Michigan, USA)

Bulletin of the DIA 53, no. 2 (1974): p. 53. Peck, William H. "A New Aphrodite in Detroit." Bulletin of the DIA 54, no. 3 (1976): pp. 124–132, front cover (ill.), 124 (ill.). Henshaw, Julia P., ed. 100 Masterworks from the Detroit Institute of Arts. New York, 1985, pp. 30–31 (ill.). Henshaw, Julia, ed. A Visitors Guide: The Detroit Institute of Arts. Detroit, 1995, p. 117 (ill.). Brinke, M. "Die Aphrodite Louvre-Neapel," Antike Plastik no. 25(1996): pp.7-64, pl. 1-50.

Roman; after Greek, Torso of Aphrodite, Roman copy of the Venus Genetrix type, 1st century CE, marble. Detroit Institute of Arts, Founders Society Purchase with funds from Cristina and Henry Ford II, 74.53.