Venus of willendorf. title: venus of willendorf, 11cm
medium: limestone
artist : unknown (i personally picture a hipster caveman)
date: circa between 24 000 and 22 000 bc
elements of art: (we can now confidently name them in our sleep)
line: curved (or "the lady line"), which makes up the detail.
tone/ volume/ shading: 3d rounded/ bulgy forms which seem to be more prominent in the front than the back
colour: monochrome, warm, brown and natural
shape: rounded and organic
texture: bumpy in areas which contrasts to the smooth body
space: not much except in the belly button (jm: this was the students' suggestion not the teacher's) - sculpture in the round
principles of design: (even mrs martin had to open up google for this one- in her defense it was a very tiring day)
focal point: breasts/ stomach
rhythm and movement: curves create some movement and sense of flow, the little bumps in the head create rhythm
harmony: fairly harmonious- everything is round and curved as opposed to the head.
proportion: exaggerated.
what we have realized is that the venus of willendorf may represent a pregnant woman due to the fact that we assume cave woman would have had a very active lifestyle (gathering the berries and whatnot) and probably would have had a somewhat more slender figure.
we assume that this sculpture would not be for worship purposes or represent trances as it is rather small, instead we think it was used as a fertility symbol or charm. cave woman may have wanted lots of kids as many of the kids would have died either in childbirth or as a result of a disease as there were no medications which also meant labour without may god them.
