In the article about “Venus of WIllendorf” by Christopher L. C. E. Witcombe the statuette is referred to as a Venus. The term refers to goddess like attributes, sexual love and beauty. Sandro Botticelli’s “Birth of Venus” painting shows an example of a classic, tall curvaceous young woman concealing herself, a sexual Venus like goddess figure. Due to the Willendorf’s large unconcealed breasts, the obese size of her figure and the detail in her pubic area she could be described as “primitive” which makes the term Venus unsuitable for the “Venus of Willendorf”. Labeling the statuette Venus may hinder the viewer that the statuette is comparable to standards of idealized female art which she is far from. The “Venus of Willendorf” is beautiful in a sense that the woman is natural and unchanged to the perception of what a ‘beautiful’ woman should look like. Today, the term Venus is interchanged with the term woman which alters the way people perceive the figure. The “Woman of Willendorf” name change allows one to see her more as a human and less like a goddess, also allowing further interpretations.
It is interesting to talk of a statuette which we know little about because you can ponder the way it might have been used or viewed in the day and age when the Venus was created. The “Venus of Willendorf” was thought to have been a fertility idol. This was thought because the sculptor incorporated features needed only for conception and nurturing children. The sculptor left out features like her face and feet yet added much detail to her hair. The Venus’ hair consists of seven rows varying in size. The fact that there are seven rows is significant because years later seven was considered a magical number. Hair was viewed as a very erotic feature not because of length or color but more for the odor, which plays part in mating. It seems as if the sculptor added such detail to her hair to show a sexual significance. Because the woman has no feet she seems more likely to have been held in the hand rather than free standing or lying. The “Venus of Willendorf” is transformed into a sensuous object while being held, the woman’s body seems soft and flesh like.
The obese size of the woman raises a considerable amount of questions. Is this Oolitic limestone sculpted from a real Paleolithic woman? Does her size mean she had special treatment? Is this what all Paleolithic women looked like? We know from archaeologists Stone Age society survived from hunting and gathering. If this was indeed a real Stone Age woman she would have been unable to sustain foraging and gathering to survive. Her obese size could mean that she was superior and had people catering to her. We may never know the true intent for creating this small sculpture although we can admire her natural beauty.
