Western Art
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Introduction
Traditional western art consisted of drawing of different nature depicting different forms of information. One of the standout works of art included the Venus Figurine. Venus Figurine is a curve portraying a woman who was curved round. The art found in Serbia has since been distributed and is presently found in the Naturhistorisches Museum in Vienna, Austria. According to Vandewettering (2015), Venus Figurine is estimated to have been curved during the Paleolithic statuette with materials including the borne, ivory, and clay. The figurines are approximately 3cm to 40cm longs and are recognized as part of prehistoric works’ earliest drawings. The description and the cultural context of the drawing are relevant to the present time. The paper uses stylistics analysis in describing the existence of Venus Figurine.
The subject and its characteristics
Venues Figurine is a traditional form of artistic work which has attracted various interpretations regarding the existence. Basile (2016) points out that the existing figure has wide hips, a small head, and legs. The thighs, vulva, abdomen, and breasts are exaggerated in a way that does not depict human beings’ proper characteristics. Most of the Venuses are in tandem with artistic conventions of prehistoric times. The abdomen is widened, and there is an exaggeration of female reproductive organs. The figures are simple, with no face and limbs. Other figures can be misconstrued to be pregnant females, while others have no such indication. Other Venuses like the Venus of Willendorf have traces of red ochre and are assumed to point to the rituals or religion of the time looking at the Paleolithic culture. Most of the Figurines are from the Upper Paleolithic. Originally most of these artifacts were considered to be traced from Aurignacian culture, but recent studies classify them as Gravettian and Solutrean cultures. In both Gravettian and Solutrean cultures, the predominant figurines are more rotund. Figurines that are finer have many details when looked closely fall under the Magdalenian culture.
There are challenges in establishing the original culture and purpose of the artifact. However, scholars suggest the piece of art was used as part of the rituals and symbolic functions. The interpretations have been used to indicate that the figure was used as part of the religious rituals at that age. In Basile (2016), religious functions could most likely be related to fertility and health roles. Also, self-depictions and possibly a goddess form part of the reasons for the piece of artwork’s probable function.
Function
Some of the common interpretation of Venuses’ functions portrays them as a portrayal of fertility, beauty, and sexual desire. An idea that first came out when these artifacts were discovered but dwell mostly in the assumption of male agency in their discovery. According to Vandewettering, (2015), Berenguer theorized these Venuses as a solid expression of man’s inner feeling on the need for women capable of bearing many children. Another theory on the function of these expressions is that they worked to ward off childbirth difficulties. The reason behind this thought has not been provided. Basile, (2016) asserts that Venus Figurines were also thought to express beauty and sexuality during the Upper Paleolithic period. These functional interpretations were dominantly connected with male impulse and desire; thus, the interpretations can be termed as androcentric, and as they only served male goals and agency. It is argued that unlike today nudity was not promoted to show sexual desire, and thus these artifacts could not have created for the same goals.
On the other hand, Venuses have been interpreted to have religious functions or reflection of matrifocal social organization. Formicola & Holt (2015) assert that the religious function has been associated with matrifocal society myths that worship Mother Goddess, a pan European. Vandewettering, (2015) points out the Partricia Rice hypothesis that the Venuses represent women through their lifespan as another function of the Venus figurines. Various scholars have also suggested that Venus Figurines could have been statues created by women while looking at their bodies. The depictions, such as large breasts and the statues lacking feet and faces, could only suggest that these women were having a reflection or perspective of their body but had no access to mirrors. Other functions suggested by various scholars include but are not limited to; the Venuses were used as worry stones, representation of witches, dolls for children, good luck amulets, and using them to keep strangers away.
Style Analysis
Venus Figurines were discovered date back to the Paleolithic era; 40000 years ago spread thought Europe and Asia in the prehistoric period. Vandewettering (2015) asserts that women and gods were the most admired piece of art during this time, as they were important in understanding religion and gender. In historic times many of these artifacts represented female deities like Artemis, Cybele, and Venus. In the view of Formicola & Holt, (2015), Venus of Willendorf is one of the best-known examples of female artifacts made during the Paleolithic period and dates back to 25,000 BC. During the Paleolithic period, fertility, reproduction, and abundance of food were prioritized and might have been the reason behind the representation of Venus figurine’s rounded, well-fed, big breasts, big buttocks, and vulvar figure.
Naming these artifacts Venus was not a historical coincidence but was a way of stretching an association with a Roman goddess known for sexuality and success. According to Vandewettering, (2015), the Venus Figurines fits in the context of the historical time as its exaggerated form of female representation is a common prehistoric element that was only replaced with the Bronze Age in 3,000 BC. The Venus Figurines gives a comprehension of female representation at any place and time.
Conclusion
The Venus figurines have fascinated many scholars since their discovery. The diversity of these artifacts created during the Upper-Paleolithic period by nomadic hunter-gathers across Europe and Asia has generated numerous interpretations. The traditional interpretations were androcentric in nature as they depicted these artifacts as the creation of men to depict their sexual desires. Nevertheless, in the recent past, these interpretations have been scrutinized by feminist archeologists who have termed these artifacts as a perception of women concerning their body since there was no mirror at that time to give them a clear reflection. If gender is discussed in the pre-historical aspect without prejudice, archeologists and historians can have a clear picture and gain a richer appreciation of the pre-historic culture discovered.
References
Basile, M. (2016). Experimental Archaeology as a Method for Studying the Paleolithic Venus Figurines. Saguntum: Papeles del Laboratorio de Arqueología de Valencia, (48), 9-24.
Formicola, V., & Holt, B. M. (2015). Tall guys and fat ladies: Grimaldi’s Upper Paleolithic burials and figurines in an historical perspective. Journal of Anthropological Sciences, 93, 71-88.
Vandewettering, K. R. (2015). Upper Paleolithic Venus figurines and interpretations of prehistoric gender representations. Pure insights, 4(1), 7.