Comments on: The Venus of Willendorf

By: Setareh

Setareh — Wed, 11 May 2011 05:07:06 +0000

I think the reason why so many people are fascinated and intrigued by the Women from Willendorf is her shape and form and the curiosity of why the sculptor exaggerated her body so much. We don’t know if women in the Paleolithic period looked like that or were the figurines strictly meant to represent health and fertility. What fascinated me about this tiny statue was her face and arms. I don’t know if she has a headdress on, or her hair is meant to be braided, or maybe even the sculptor thought her face wasn’t the main focus. When I first studied the statue, I did not notice her arms at all and didn’t know that they were resting on her breasts. I also initially thought that she was much larger than her true size, which is less than 5 inches! It’s such an interesting sculpture.

By: Reality Bites

Reality Bites — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 20:53:00 +0000

The Met as an almost as mysterious piece from Greece (albeit only 6,000 years old, not 20,000). It is knowing so little about the figure and realising that our ancestors were not so much unlike us that makes them deeply fascinating and hugely significant to art history.

Context is so important when looking at art. Here we have little or no idea of the exact context. All we know is that early humans were drawn to create just as we are.

Figure at The Met: http://realitybitesartblog.blogspot.com/2011/01/bite-49-unknown-female-figure-greece.html

By: remoflossy

remoflossy — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 14:51:44 +0000

Venus of Willendorf is the like the “she” in a Bob Dylan song…they are singing about whole female gender or maybe femdom.

By: Maddie

Maddie — Sat, 27 Nov 2010 20:22:40 +0000

As I read descriptions of this beautiful Venus on the web, it is striking to me how male writers describe her as “obese”, “grossly exaggerated”, etc. I think she is as beautiful in her way as any idealized Venus of Greek times, e.g, and she so clearly is meant as a symbol of feminine power, abundance, fertility.

By: Christine

Christine — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 22:54:19 +0000

We are fascinated by the thought that such a sophisticated, little sculpture could have been made thousands of years ago. Art historians point to the Venus of Willendorf as evidence that the culture that created her was not just concerned with foraging for food, but had other concerns such as fertility. In that case, the statue is very practical, but on the other hand it shows that thousands of years ago, our ancestors were “sophisticated” enough to establish fertility cults and to communicate their needs beyond food and shelter.

By: The Goddess of Willendorf

The Goddess of Willendorf — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 23:43:49 +0000

[...] http://deepthoughtsbyhealey.wordpress.com/2009/12/22/venus-of-willendorf/ http://arthistory.we-wish.net/2009/07/29/the-venus-of-willendorf/ [...]

By: Swordfly

Swordfly — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 17:54:21 +0000

She even has her own FaceBook page, http://www.facebook.com/pages/Venus-of-Willendorf/32500928571?_fb_noscript=1

By: John

John — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 01:48:42 +0000

Thanks for the mention! Looks like a good series here – I’m subscribing! :)

By: Val Span

Val Span — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 04:00:22 +0000

I like her shape – she’s nicely rounded, not pointy and sharp, wider in the middle. And the bow of her head is sort of reverential. She is like an Everywoman, Mother Nature and – I mean this is the nicest possible way – Walmart Woman.

By: Chelsea

Chelsea — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 22:57:20 +0000

Grit, too funny — and it’s exactly right: she is anonymous, and totally meant to be “every woman”!

Art Twomacs, what an excellent point. The fact that she’s dated to over 20,000 years ago is so astounding and that mystery of her creation is a great imagination-sparker. (Makes me think it would be a great beginning to a brainstorming/free writing activities for students!)