Torso of a Woman
Unknown Artist
100 BCE–400 CE, or modern, before 1927?
Medium
marble
Dimensions
40 × 19.1 × 12.1 cm
Classification
Sculpture
Department
Greek and Roman Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Gift of Mrs. George D. Pratt
Accession Number
1927.383
About this artwork
Even without her head, limbs, or additional attributes, the nudity of this female statuette connects her to Aphrodite, goddess of love, or Venus, her Roman parallel. Female nudity was first realized in large scale in the mid-300s BC by the famous Athenian artist Praxiteles (395–330 BC), whose sculpture of Aphrodite was prominently displayed in a shrine in the city of Knidos (in present-day Turkey). For centuries thereafter, the female nude became a great favorite for Greek and Roman artists. The...