Aphrodite (Venus Pudica), Archaeological Museum of Naples, Italy

Aphrodite (Venus), Dresden-Capitoline type

Sculpture – Marble – 2nd century

Aphrodite, Dresden-Capitoline type, Archaeological Museum of Naples, Italy

Aphrodite Dresden model Aphrodite, also known as Venus, stands naked, modestly covering her genitals and one breast.

The goddess leans against a column, representing the depths of the ocean from which she was born.

We see an octopus being attacked by a dolphin, the dolphin’s open mouth biting into the octopus’s body.

Cupid, Aphrodite’s son with outstretched wings, rides on the dolphin’s back.

It looks as though he has just ordered the dolphin to attack the octopus.

The dynamic position of his arms and legs shows that he is directing the action and following it closely, his head leaning forward.

Aphrodite Dresden model

Aphrodite, Dresden-Capitoline type

Sculpture – Marble – 1st century

Aphrodite Capitoline, Dresden This statue of Aphrodite (Venus) was modelled on a Greek original from the 3rd–2nd century BC depicting the goddess in a classical pose.

This depiction of Aphrodite is quite similar to the previous sculpture in terms of the position of the goddess’s hands.

One of her hands covers her genitals, whilst the other partially conceals her left breast.

The so-called modest pose is, however, more ambiguous here, because, unlike the previous statue, the palm of her hand is quite far from her breast and she is touching her nipple with the tip of her middle finger, as if she were showing it to us.

She also wears a bracelet around her left arm.

The dolphin supports and accompanies the goddess of love and beauty, born from the foam that emerged from Thalassa (the sea) to reach the island of Cythera.

Aphrodite, Capitoline type

Sculpture - Marble - First half of the 2nd century

Capitoline Aphrodite, Archaeological Museum of Naples, Italy

Capitoline Aphrodite This other statue of the modest Aphrodite of the Capitoline type was created in the early 2nd century, drawing inspiration from an earlier Greek work from the 3rd or 2nd century BC.

Like the other Capitoline Venuses, she covers her genitals with one hand and is about to cover her breast with the other.

Her pose, however, is more natural, as if she had just been caught unawares, prompting her reaction of modesty.

Her peplos lies beside her on a slender column.

She has just stepped out of the bath, but this version of Aphrodite no longer corresponds to the traditional image of the goddess emerging from the sea.

In earlier statues, this column was replaced by a dolphin.

Capitoline Aphrodite

Aphrodite pudique type capitoline, Herculanum

Modest Aphrodite (Capitoline type), Herculaneum, Archaeological Museum of Naples, Italy

Modest Aphrodite Sculpture - Marbre - 2nd century

Aphrodite (Vénus), déesse de la beauté féminine inspirant la passion amoureuse, était la seule divinité à être souvent représentée nue par les sculpteurs de l’antiquité.

Cette Vénus pudique découverte sur le site d’Herculanum est une œuvre de l’époque romaine.

Elle reproduit l’attitude et la coiffure de la Vénus du Capitole reconnue comme la meilleure copie romaine de l’Aphrodite de Cnide.

L’Aphrodite de Cnide (2nd century av. J.-C.) est une superbe copie d’une œuvre originale de Praxitèle.

Modest Aphrodite Praxiteles was a Greek sculptor, renowned for his statues with perfect forms that elevated human beauty to its zenith.

His face is particularly beautiful.

It expresses the gentleness and purity of the goddess, who could, however, be as cruel as she was affectionate.

The edge of her peplos, resting on an amphora, is finished with a fringe.

Aphrodite’s hands and feet are truly beautiful and demonstrate the talent of the sculptor who created this work.

The same compliment can also be paid regarding the goddess’s hair and hairstyle.

Modest Aphrodite

Modest Aphrodite, Temple of Apollo, Pompeii

Sculpture - Marbre - late 1st century BC – early 1st century

Aphrodite Pudique, Temple d'Apollon, Pompéi, musée archéologique de Naples en Italie

Modest Aphrodite, Pompeii Discovered in the Temple of Apollo in Pompeii, this modest Aphrodite (Venus) is a copy of a Greek original from the 4th century BC.

She covers her genitals and one breast in a gesture of feminine modesty identical to that of the modest Greek Aphrodite created in 330 BC by Scopas of Paros.

The Medici Venus in the Uffizi Gallery in Florence also displays the same pose.

The only difference being that a piece of fabric was added to the Aphrodite of Pompeii to emphasise her gesture of modesty.

One gets the impression that she was not stepping out of the bath but was about to step into it because her peplos is wedged between her thighs, as if she had just taken it off and, in a reflex of modesty, she had barely had time to press her thighs together whilst covering her genitals with her hand.

Her features are particularly delicate and her body is perfect.

Aphrodite Pudique, Pompéi

Modest Aphrodite, Pompeii, Archaeological Museum of Naples, Italy