Big Girls in Art: Venus of Willendorf
By Francesca
This poster bears an image of the 25,000-year old statue called the Venus of Willendorf.
Is she not beautiful?
Hat tip: A wonderful post at Big Fat Deal
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April 2nd, 2008 at 9:07 am
Yes actually.. BF loves my belly :)
April 2nd, 2008 at 12:14 pm
I have replicas of her in my house. I have a picture in my files that show the difference between the ideals of the 1600’s and now. Big girls were always considered the most beautiful until the middle of last century and now. You can’t have “dimpled elbows” and have a BMI of 12. Tiny thin in the old days was a sign that you had “consumption” (i.e. TB) Think of these adjectives, voluptuous, buxom, curvaceous, ample, winsome…We have been the ideal for most of history. It is only recently (in historic terms) that the starving waif look has become the standard of beauty. It is a way of staying childlike therefore needing protection. If you wear a size 10 or over you are way too independent!!!
April 2nd, 2008 at 12:14 pm
I love that statue, I have wanted a reproduction of my own forever.
April 3rd, 2008 at 10:07 am
This has always been one of my favorites and I am going to purchase the poster print. Has anyone ever seen the “Snapshots” collection http://www.crystalclassics.com/kosta/snapshots.htm from Kosta Boda? The series is now retired, but I was lucky enough to get one several years ago and it is one of the first things I see in the morning. Mine shows the leaping dancer and she is just so joyful and exuberant. She always puts me in a good mood.
April 3rd, 2008 at 4:21 pm
Thin did not become the ideal for women until the very early 20th C. Thin was acceptable for children, but once a woman reached child-bearing age she was supposed to be voluptuous. While people were smaller in general, due to nutritional/parasite/disease factors, the proportions stayed the same. The ideal woman was full-bodied, corsetted to give her a specific shape, full-breasted and soft.
April 9th, 2008 at 6:28 pm
I had to do a paper on the Venus for a art history class last year. The paper took all the fun out of the figurine for me. Let me know if anyone wants to read it.