The Mid Section

Back to the Very Beginning - The Venus of Willendorf

by Jenn S.
March 25 2009

When I say “back to the very beginning,” I really mean the VERY BEGINNING.  This post will take us back to the very roots of civilization: we’re talking back when people first started making things.

What you see above, the Venus of Willendorf (also known as the Woman of Willendorf), is an 11.1 cm (4 3/8 inches) high statuette of a female figure estimated to have been created between 24,000 BCE – 22,000 BCE. It was discovered in 1908 by archaeologist Josef Szombathy at a paleolithic site near Willendorf, a village in Lower Austria.  It is carved from an oolitic limestone that is not local to the area, and tinted with red ochre.

Other than that, we don’t know too terribly much about this lovely Venus. 

Check out some other great blog posts just for you.

Jennifer is an art historian working in a major D.C. museum. She believes that art allows us to transcend and scrutinize our cultural perceptions and hopes to share this experience with you.

Comments

• Golda Poretsky, H.H.C. | posted March 28, 2009

  I always love seeing the Venus of Willendorf.  To me, she is a symbol of feminine energy, a reminder of the power of the female body as a creative force, and an embodiment of our connection to the Earth via our bodies.  Thank you so much for this post and making me think of her!

• Jenn S. | posted March 30, 2009

  You are welcome.  She is most certainly a symbol of energy and fertility… and a poignant reminder that the way we are “supposed” to look is totally and completely shaped by society.  If art is any indication (which I believe it is, of course), then we see here that as society changes, our bodies - and our notions of the ideal body - change too.