Date of Award

2014

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelors

Department

Humanities

First Advisor

Carrasco, Malena

Keywords

Aphrodite of Knidos, Medieval Art, Sculpture, Sexuality, Art History

Area of Concentration

Art History

Abstract

Created by the Greek artist Praxiteles in the fourth century BC, the Aphrodite of Knidos was the first life-sized, naturalistic sculpture of a nude female in the history of art. Since its creation, artists have copied and referenced the ancient sculpture countless times. This thesis explores potential explanations for later artists’ preoccupation with the sculpture. In it, I examine seminal classical, medieval and Renaissance derivations of the Aphrodite of Knidos. All post-classical works discussed utilize the sculpture’s pudica gesture, with which the figure covers her genitalia. It becomes clear that throughout centuries of art, the simple act of covering one’s genitalia highlights that which it ostensibly attempts to conceal: the pubis. I argue that one of the most compelling explanations for artists’ continued use of the pudica gesture is its ability to define a woman’s genitalia—and, by extension, her sexuality—as her primary characteristic without placing an inherent value judgment on this characteristic. In the examples discussed in the body of this text, the gesture is used to malign a woman’s connection to her sexualized body or to praise it, but never to deny that connection.

Download

Share

COinS