Traditional Modern Female Nude Aphrodite Bathing
Beautiful and sensual goddess Aphrodite of ancient Greece. Nude version. Scale 75 mm
Traditional Modern Female Nude Aphrodite Bathing Wood Print
The Aphrodite of Knidos (or Cnidus) was an of the goddess created by of around the 4th century BC. It was one of the first life-sized in Greek history, displaying an alternative idea to male . Praxiteles' Aphrodite was shown nude, reaching for a bath towel while covering her , which, in turn leaves her breasts exposed. Up until this point, Greek sculpture had been dominated by male nude figures. The original Greek sculpture is no longer in existence; however, many Roman copies survive of this influential work of art. Variants of the (suggesting an action to cover the breasts) are the and the .
The was a marble carving of the goddess Aphrodite by the sculptor , which was bought by the people of in the middle of the 4th century BC. The earliest text to mention the Aphrodite is 's , which reports that Praxiteles carved two sculptures of Aphrodite, one clothed and one nude; the clothed one was bought by the people of and the Knidians bought the nude one. The statue was set up as the for the . It depicted the goddess Aphrodite as she prepared for the that restored her purity, discarding her dry with one hand, while modestly shielding herself with the other. The placement of her hands obscures her pubic area, while simultaneously drawing attention to her exposed upper body. The statue is famed for its beauty, and is designed to be appreciated from every angle.
