Aphrodite of Cnidos

Sculpture

Museum of Antiquities - University of Saskatchewan

Catalogue Image

2014-00-00

Name/Title

Aphrodite of Cnidos

Entry/Object ID

77G0419

Description

Torso of a statue of Aphrodite stepping from the bath with head and extremities missing.

Type of Sculpture

Statue

Artwork Details

Medium

Marble

Subject

goddess

Subject Person

Aphrodite

Subject Place

City

Cnidos

Region

Asia Minor

Context

“To see which many have sailed to Cnidos, is the finest statue not only by Praxiteles (see also: Aphrodite of Arles; Hermes and the Infant Dionysus; Apollo Lykeios) but in the whole world.” So said Pliny the Elder, a Roman scientist and historian. The Aphrodite of Cnidos, the greatest among the first monumental statues of the nude female form, was celebrated in many stories. One tale explains that Praxiteles created both nude and draped versions of the statue for the citizens of Kos. They were horrified by the naked statue, but the people of Cnidos were excited to purchase it instead. Another story offers that a courtesan named Phryne was Praxiteles’ model for the sculpture. There have been many attempts to restore the head and limbs of this version, with more or less convincing results. But a headless torso paradoxically has some advantages. The head always automatically becomes the focal point, and the eyes of the beholder always return to it. But if the head is hidden or gone, the rest comes fully and conspicuously into view. Thus, we can fully appreciate the rendering of the torso. As the first great monumental female nude, she is a sort of Eve, whose long lineage will be variants on the Praxitelian theme (see: Aphrodite of Arles; Aphrodite Anadyomene; Crouching Aphrodite; Aphrodite of Melos).

Collection

Classical Greece

Made/Created

Artist Information

Artist

Praxiteles

Role

Sculptor

Date made

364 BCE - 364 BCE

Time Period

Classical

Ethnography

Cultural Region

Region

Asia Minor

Culture/Tribe

Greek - Classical

Dimensions

Dimension Description

Overall

Height

68.5 cm

Width

32 cm

Depth

20 cm

Research Notes

Research Type

Reference

Notes

Havelock, Christine. The Aphrodite of Knidos and her Successors (University of Michigan Press, 1995). Public: No

Research Type

Reference

Notes

Woodford, S. An Introduction to Greek Art (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1986). Public: No

Research Type

Reference

Notes

Smith, Tyler Jo and Plantzos, Dimitris. A Companion to Greek Art. Oxford: Wiley-Blackwell, 2012.

Research Type

Reference

Notes

Kjellberg and Saflund. Restoring the Aphrodite of Cnidos. Public: No

Research Type

Reference

Notes

Mitchell Havelock, Christine. The Aphrodite of Knidos and Her Successors: A Historical Review of the Female Nude in Greek Art. University of Michigan Press, 2007.