Art Institute of Chicago

Fragment of a Statue of Venus

Roman

Date

1st-2nd century

Medium

Marble

Culture

Italy

Department

Arts of Greece, Rome, and Byzantium

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

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.

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