Women in art- A virtual tour
Short Report 8

I decided to take a virtual tour of women in Ancient art. Women played a key role in history and it is very evidence in the artwork we have seen so far in class. Although I was unhappy with not being able to visit a museum in person, this assignment was still very educational and personal. I was on a mini vacation right in my own house.
The Venus of Willendorf.
My first stop was a look at the Venus of Willendorf. She is a statue of a woman about 4.3 inches tall. She was found in 1908. She is a Paleolithic figurine made from carved ivory, wood, and stone. She is the most famous of the Venus figurine during her time. At first glance you see a woman with features that are not pleasing to the eye. She has large breasts, large thighs, and a large stomach. She obviously is pregnant. She has no feet and her face is distorted. I think the face was distorted because they were symbols of fertility or mother goddess not necessary a human. Pregnant women today could defiantly relate to how she looks because most pregnant women may see themselves this way. The Venus of Willendorf was founded in lower Australia. One theory is these statues were meant to be carried. This could explain why archeologist believed where she was found was not the same place she was carved. The women during this period were just not cavewomen. They were inventors, religious leaders, and very good hunters. http://witcombe.sbc.edu/willendorf/willendorfname.html The Statuses of Mut My next stop was Egypt. It was here that I view a bronze statue of a mut. The statuses of Mut or sometimes spell Maut means mother goddess. She is a bronze statue located at the Kelsey Museum of Archeology in Michigan. The goddess of maut, author unknown was dated around 600-100BC. Her figure is very different from the one we view earlier. She is tall with a slender body and is wearing what seems to be a double crown on her head which is probably a symbol of royalty. She was the goddess of Thebes. Her role was that of an older woman but very divine. She was associated with a vulture which also mean mother. Other animals were the cobra and the lion.

http://www2.si.umich.edu/Art_History/UMMA/KEL4/KEL4677_a.jpg
An old Market Women The next stop was Rome where I looked at a statue of an old woman. This image was more human like and real. What I found interesting is her dress was still sexual in nature even though she was way beyond child bearing. This statue can be found at the Museum on the Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History, She stands about four feet tall. She is from the Julio-Claudian Dynasty (27B.C.-68A.D). She was made sometime after Alexander the Great. Like most Roman art this could be a copy of the Greeks. Her purpose was probably to be seen by visitor going to festivals.

http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/09.39
Yakshi
The next stop in my journey was to look at a Hindu mother goddess called a yakshi. She too was a symbol of fertility or mother earth. She has large hips, slender waists and large breasts. Most modern day women would say they look like her. Many Yakshi could be found on column in front of stupas and later in front of Buddhist temples. She is a recurring theme in many different Indian arts. She is made up of red sandstone. By just touching a tree she could get it to bear fruit. The most interesting thing to me was her clothes. She was only wearing a mini skirt. But the skirt was a beautiful drape cloth wrapped around her waist.

http://www.artic.edu/artaccess/AA_India/pages/India_1_lg.shtml
Virgin and Child (Theotokos Hodegetria) My final stop was a look at the Virgin Mary. She is the mother of all Mothers. This Ivory statue is believed to be the only example we have during the Byzantine era. Sculptures were not common during this time period; however they did have many ivory reliefs. She is one of the most recognize religious figure. She was made in Istanbul. The author is unknown. She was carved to be completely view in the round. She was made in the late 10th century. I love the way she is holding Christ Jesus. There are many modern day Virgin Mary sculptures holding baby Jesus but what I like about this sculptures is Jesus looks like a young toddler. She is house at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. She stands about 4ft tall.

http://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O93178/statuette-virgin-and-child-theotokos-hodegetria/

Wow, my virtual trip took me all around the world; it allowed me to experience many great pieces of work. It is interesting that images and symbols of mothers and mother goddess have been around since the Indus valley civilization. Without the internet I don’t think I could have experience these beautiful pieces of art. Art history is very beautiful to look at and I can only imagine it is even more magnificent in person.