Venus de' Medici
A Hellenistic marble copy of a Praxitelean Aphrodite.
The Venus de' Medici stands 1.53 meters tall and is carved from marble in the Hellenistic style, representing Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love. This sculpture dates to the 1st century BC and is a copy—likely produced in Athens—of an earlier bronze Greek original. That original followed the model of the Aphrodite of Knidos and was probably created by a sculptor working in the immediate tradition of Praxiteles, possibly near the end of the 4th century BC. Over time, this statue has served as a key reference point for tracing the development of the Western classical tradition; mentions of it reveal shifting tastes and the evolution of classical scholarship. It currently resides in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence, Italy.
- Type
- Hellenistic marble sculpture
- Height
- 1.53 m (5 ft 0 in)
- Date of copy
- 1st century BC
- Original tradition
- Praxitelean, late 4th century BC
- Current location
- Uffizi Gallery, Florence, Italy
- Subject
- Aphrodite (Greek goddess of love)
Lore & Background
The statue depicts the goddess in a fugitive, momentary pose, as if surprised in the act of emerging from the sea, to which the dolphin at her feet alludes. The dolphin would not have been a necessary support for the bronze original. The statue base bears a Greek inscription reading 'Kleomenes (son) of Apollodoros of Athens made it,' but the inscription is not original; in the 18th century the name 'Cleomenes' was forged on sculptures of modest quality to enhance their value, and the inscription on the Venus de' Medici was doubtless intended to ascribe the work to a highly-thought-of name such as Praxiteles. The restoration of the arms was done by Ercole Ferrata, who gave them long tapering Mannerist fingers that did not begin to be recognized as out of keeping with the sculpture until the 19th century.
Reader's Guide
The Venus de' Medici is the name piece under which many replicas and fragments of this particular version of Praxiteles' theme are recognized. Though this variant is not identifiable in any extant literature, it must have been widely known to Greek and Roman connoisseurs. Its reputation grew gradually; it was published in the collection at the Villa Medici, Rome, in 1638. It was sent to Florence in August 1677, its export permitted by Innocent XI because it was thought to stimulate lewd behavior. In the Tribuna of the Uffizi it was a high point of the Grand Tour and universally esteemed as one of the half-dozen finest antique statues to have survived, until a reaction in taste began during the 19th century. It was shipped to Paris in 1803 after diplomatic pressure, and returned to Florence on 27 December 1815. The sculpture is one of the most-copied antiquities, with copies in marble, lead, bronze, and porcelain appearing in gardens, cabinets, and collections across Europe and America.
Did You Know?
- The statue base bears a Greek inscription that is not original, likely forged to ascribe the work to a famous sculptor like Praxiteles.
- The restoration of the arms was done by Ercole Ferrata, who gave them long tapering Mannerist fingers.
- It was shipped to Paris in 1803 after diplomatic pressure and returned to Florence on 27 December 1815.
- American sculptor Hiram Powers based his 1844 statue The Greek Slave on the Venus de' Medici.
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