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Venus

Creator

Artist · 1737–1823

Born in London, Joseph Nollekens was the son of a Flemish genre painter. He trained with a Flemish sculptor in London before going to Rome in 1762. Gaining employment in Bartolomeo Cavaceppi's workshop, he restored ancient sculptures as well as terracottas by such artists as Michelangelo and Giambologna. In this venerable city, Nollekens learned from the antique, perfecting a Neoclassical style th

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Date: 1773
Medium: Marble
Culture: English
Department: Sculpture
Institution: Getty Museum

Venus, goddess of beauty and love in ancient mythology, leans on a tree trunk to remove her remaining sandal. She turns inward, drawing the viewer in to examine her nude body. Carved fully in the round, the figure provides views from multiple angles. Along with statues of Minerva and Juno, Venus illustrates the subject of the Judgment of Paris, drawn from ancient mythology, when Paris was asked to judge which of the three goddesses was the most beautiful. Venus, here carved in a satiny white marble and in the greatest state of undress, won.

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