The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 19, 2024

Aphrodite Torso

Aphrodite Torso

200–1 BCE
(Taranto, Italy)
Thasian marble
Overall: 66.3 x 36.2 cm (26 1/8 x 14 1/4 in.)
John L. Severance Fund 1988.9
Location: 102C Greek

Did You Know?

This torso is based on the Aphrodite of Knidos, a Greek original by the master sculptor Praxiteles.

Description

No single sculpture in the history of Western art has been more influential than Praxiteles’s Knidian Aphrodite, carved in the 4th century BC. The first sculpted nude figure of the goddess of love, it became a famous tourist attraction and made Praxiteles a celebrity in the Greek world. The shocking originality of showing the goddess unaware that she had been seen emerging from her bath made a lasting impression. It became a prototype for generations of Greek and Roman sculptors. Its popularity inspired many variations, including this one. The sensitivity of the carving, seen to advantage in the wet hair falling on the shoulders, imparts a dynamic sensuality.
  • Early 1900s
    Dr. Jacob Hirsch (1874-1955), New York, NY, Switzerland, Paris, France
    Before 1920
    Friedrich (Fritz) Ludwig von Gans (1833-1920), Frankfurt, Germany
    1921-1924? or later
    Kunsthandel K. W. Bachstitz (Kurt Walter Bachstitz), Berlin, Germany
    before 1935
    Herr Max Emden, Berlin, Germany and Villa Brissago, Switzerland
    1935-1988
    Dr. Robert Käppeli, Lucerne, Switzerland, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1988-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Bachstitz, K. W. The Bachstitz Gallery Collection. Band II: Sammlungen der Galerie Bachstitz: Antike Kunst). Berlin: [A. Frisch], 1921. Pp. 72-73, Tafel 85-86 (Cat. 218).
    Schefold, Karl. Meisterwerke griechischer Kunst. (Ausstellung Kunsthalle Basel, 18 June - 13 September 1960.) Basel: B. Schwabe, 1960. Pp. 97, 281-282 (Cat. 395).
    Antikenmuseum Basel, Robert Käppeli, and Ernst Berger. Kunstwerke der Antike. [Basel]: [Antikenmuseum], 1963. Cat. A 21 (inv. 215).
    Kozloff, Arielle P. Classical Art: A Brief Guide to the Collection, the Cleveland Museum of Art. [Cleveland]: The Museum, 1989. P. 14, fig. 26.
    "The Year in Review for 1988." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 76, no. 2 (1989): 30-75. P. 41-43 (ill. p. 42), 68 (no. 3). 25160061
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1991. Reproduced: p. 10 archive.org
  • The Year in Review for 1988. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 1-May 14, 1989).
    Meisterwerke griechischer Kunst, Kunsthalle Basel, Switzerland (18 June - 13 September 1960).
  • {{cite web|title=Aphrodite Torso|url=false|author=|year=200–1 BCE|access-date=19 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1988.9