Читать книгу Art History For Dummies - Jesse Bryant Wilder - Страница 74

Sculpture grew up alongside painting as a sister art. Most prehistoric sculptures were either small statues called statuettes or reliefs. In a relief, the sculptor outlines an image in stone or wood, and then carves out the background so that the image projects above it. The most famous early statuette is the Woman of Willendorf, also known as Venus of Willendorf.

All nude female figures found by German archaeologists in the 19th century (including Woman of Willendorf) were named Venus.

Woman of Willendorf is a pudgy 4½-inch-high figure carved out of limestone. She doesn’t look very sexy to modern eyes, but she may have been a fertility symbol 25,000 years ago. Because concentric braids of hair wrapped around her head like a stocking cap conceal Woman of Willendorf’s face, we can surmise that her looks didn’t matter. But these other characteristics and purposes do matter:

 She wasn’t an individual, but a type. Cave people didn’t necessarily think of Woman of Willendorf as hot stuff, the Marilyn Monroe of the cave era, so to speak. What mattered were her sexual characteristics: huge breasts, a bulging belly (as if she were permanently pregnant), watermelon-sized buttocks, and prominent genitals. Her other features weren’t given much attention by the artist. Her pudgy arms and cut-off legs seem to be an afterthought. The same female type is found in many prehistoric cultures around the world.

 Her purpose was to promote fertility and abundance. Was the appeal of Woman of Willendorf meant to turn people on? Probably not. Rather than seeking a libido boost, a woman might have held the statuette in her hand before having sex so that the statuette’s fertility could be magically transferred to her.

 Her ample proportions may have been a sign of wealth. Why is Woman of Willendorf so fat? Living off nuts, berries, and wild game means primitive peoples didn’t need to sign up for weight watchers. Many of them probably died of malnutrition — and most didn’t reach 30. Only a very privileged woman could afford to be this big.